


PROJECT: ARACHNID

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: when plans go awry [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (he denies it though), Adorable Peter Parker, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Established Relationship, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Peter is a Little Shit, Peter's onesie is a monstrosity and Tony will make sure that he knows it, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony is so done with both of them, Tony will give him one, loki is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-04-29 15:46:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14475942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: When Tony decided to help the vigilante swinging around Queens in nothing but a onesie, he’d thought that there would likely be some wrangling involved. But he hadn’t expected the kid to become soclingy.Loki, of course, just thinks the entire thing is rather hilarious. It’s all fun and games until someone calls him an Avenger… andmeansit.





	1. First Encounters

**Author's Note:**

> So I know I said that this was going to be short, but it's... not, really. I don't know why I thought I could manage to write a oneshot for this series. There is no stopping it from growing. 
> 
> In related news, I have decided that when I finish this part, I will be continuing through Infinity War. Yeah, that's definitely happening now.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _As with most bad decisions in his life, Tony’s near obsessive interest in Spider-Man began with a science binge gone wrong._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING. Tony hurts himself in this chapter. It's for science, but if that's going to be an issue- when Tony starts talking about science, skip to _"So Tony had jumped..."_ , and then you'll be fine.

Tony crouched on the edge of the rooftop, one gauntleted hand braced against the short brick barrier that would do very little to stop a fall. His helmet was retracted into the suit and he was watching the action below with his own eyes, the soft breeze ruffling his hair. He didn’t want any distractions, and he didn’t need JARVIS’ commentary on technique or strength.

He stayed perfectly still, not wanting to be noticed. He didn’t think he would be– if the kid hadn’t spotted Iron Man tailing him the whole evening, he wasn’t going to notice that someone was watching while he attempted to stop a bank robbery.

With his helmet off, Tony couldn’t currently see what the low lives were doing, but he had a clear view of Spider-Man’s attempts to pose himself, and Tony found himself grinning as the kid alternated between leaning on the wall and standing straight with his arms crossed over his chest. If Tony hadn’t seen the awkward positioning and if it weren’t for the terrible onesie, it almost might have looked imposing. But as it were, Tony wouldn’t blame the thieves if they—

“What are you doing?”

Tony nearly jumped out of his skin and spun on the spot, repulsors raised instinctively. It was only thanks to JARVIS’ quick activation of the jets on his back - at least, he assumed it was JARVIS, because he certainly hadn’t done it - that stopped him from toppling over the edge of the roof and splattering on the ground below. Not that the Iron Man suit would _splatter_ – it would be more likely to hit with a _clang_ , and even then only if Tony didn’t manage to catch himself with the repulsors on the way down, but either way it would have been terribly embarrassing.

Loki raised an eyebrow, his lips turning up in an amused smirk.

“Was that really necessary?” Tony grumbled, rolling his eyes and turning back to face the bank. Spider-Man was still in sight, waving his arms around like he was in the middle of an animate conversation. He seemed to talk even more than Tony did in a fight, and that was saying something. “You should stop using magic to sneak up on people.”

“You should be more aware of your surroundings,” Loki retorted. “The question stands.”

“I was _bored_ ,” Tony said. “I don’t get why Steve wants us in New York—“

“It’s you that he wants here,” Loki cut in.

“He should know by now that we’re a package deal,” Tony replied, and Loki smiled. Arrogant sod. “He should also know that I am _not_ in the mood for dealing with new recruits.”

“So why are you chasing after Spider-Man, then?” Loki asked.

Tony had a witty reply ready, he really did, but as he leaned in to give it he was interrupted by the bank exploding and some kind of laser slicing through the solid concrete of the building they were perched atop of. Tony hardly had time to react, but Loki grabbed his arm and in moments they were a few streets over, the carnage little more than a trail of smoke in the sky and the soft echo of various alarms.

“We need to go back,” Tony said immediately.

“There’s nothing—“

“Don’t,” said Tony, throwing Loki a glare before jumping into the sky and shooting upward.

As he rose above the line of buildings he saw that Loki was right– there would be no saving the bank, and the occupant of the sandwich bar that had been obliterated was already on the street and calling for the police, an action that would be unnecessary since Tony could see the flashing red and blue lights only two blocks over. Spider-Man, meanwhile, was swinging down the street, and the thieves were in the wind. With a sigh, Tony headed back down and landed beside where Loki still stood, his expression unimpressed.

“Gone,” Tony said as he tucked away the helmet.

Loki frowned. “If you are about to admonish me for preventing you from apprehending those criminals—“

“Nah,” Tony said. “Bank robbers are below my pay grade, anyway– or, well, they usually are. These guys packed a punch. If you hadn’t pulled me away I think that laser might have done some serious damage.”

Loki rolled his eyes as if to say _well, exactly_.

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for that,” Tony added, shaking his head fondly.

“The weaponry was similar to Chitauri technology,” Loki told him.

“What?!” Tony’s gaze snapped to Loki. “How? SI funded the D.O.D.C., made sure that all that stuff was off the streets. I didn’t even want it in SHIELD’s hands, and although they obviously got their greasy paws on some of it—“

“You think you managed to stop all of it?” Loki asked. “You think that none fell through the cracks?”

“I’m not that naive, or that hopeful,” Tony admitted. “I guess I had thought that what the D.O.D.C. missed, SHIELD and HYDRA would have picked up.”

“Clearly not,” Loki said. “Will you do something about this?”

“I’ll see what Steve says, but probably,” Tony agreed. “But first, I want to know what the hell Spider-Man was up to mixing with guys like this.”

Loki shrugged. “Perhaps he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Probably. But… a kid with superpowers, some criminals, and some alien tech? There’s no way this ends well.”

—•—

As with most bad decisions in his life, Tony’s near obsessive interest in Spider-Man began with a science binge gone wrong.

Science, you see, can be grandly defined by the action of finding something interesting and poking at it until something more interesting happens. Tony considered himself an expert poker of things, whether they be scientific theorems, metaphorical bears, or the laws of physics. He had a need to _understand,_ an innate curiosity about everything around him, and at this point in time, that included his own body.

It was logical, after all, that he learn his own limits. How could he know what he was newly capable of, what he was now able to withstand, unless he tested it?

The first set of tests were easy. Physically, he was much the same, with a small boost to his fitness that had come through the healing of his liver, his heart, and his increased lung capacity now that the scarring left over from the reactor was gone. He was slightly more durable to the extent that a friendly punch in the arm from Thor no longer left him with a bruise, but a scan of his bones showed that their density had not changed– he couldn’t survive much more of a hit than he would have been able to before Loki had stolen him a golden apple, and he certainly still couldn’t survive as much of a beating as Steve could. His strength and speed were unchanged as far as he could tell, and a part from a few less scars and perhaps a few less wrinkles, he still looked exactly the same.

But there was one more thing he knew he needed to test which… well, it wasn’t going to be pleasant.

Dummy whirred unhappily as Tony held the blade to his skin, contemplating what he was about to do. He probably shouldn’t be conducting his experiments in the workshop– he didn’t want to upset Dummy, though there wasn’t a whole lot of choice. He hadn’t yet admitted to the Avengers what had happened, and he knew Loki wouldn’t be much pleased, would probably just explain to him again what he had a few times already. _Enhanced healing, but not to the same extent as an Aesir. Just enough to lengthen your lifespan._ But Tony needed to _know_ , needed to _understand_ what he was now capable of surviving. It would have been easier if Dummy had stayed in Malibu, but Loki had brought the bot with them when they had relocated to the Tower on Steve’s request. Loki had known how much Tony missed Dummy when he was away from Malibu, and at the time, Tony had been touched by the gesture. Now, though, it was inconvenient.

“It’s all right,” Tony said to him, putting down the dagger so he was able to pat Dummy softly on the side. “I’ll heal, you’ll see.”

Dummy lowered and twisted his claw in protest, and Tony sighed, picking up the blade once more. It was a clean blade, one that he had made for Natasha but hadn’t had the time to gift yet, and as such remained unused. In order to soothe Dummy’s nerves (and, if he was being totally honest, his own) he first pressed the edge of the knife just to his left thumb, allowing only a small drop of blood to well on the tip before pulling it away. He grabbed a cloth to wipe at the blood, and then carefully examined the wound. It was just a small red line, short and clean, and already no longer bleeding. It wasn’t like anything from the films– there was no miraculous flash of light, and the skin didn’t begin to knit together as he watched. But the red slowly grew dark, slow enough that he almost didn’t notice, scabbing over faster than it should have but not so fast that anyone would notice without properly looking. He sat patiently and had JARVIS record the process to turn into a time-lapse later, and by the end of it he had his results.

A small nick that probably would have healed in a day had taken just under thirty minutes to be entirely unnoticeable. The math was easy, but Tony wanted more proof.

This time, he was a little more comfortable, Tony holding the knife to the palm of his hand, slicing clean and long. The cut wasn’t deep, but Tony guessed it would maybe take at least three days to heal properly. If he could determine his rate of healing from this and the smaller cut, he would have a better idea of what the apple had made him capable of. If the tiny cut had healed at a rate of just over fifty times faster than before, then this cut should heal in perhaps two hours, perhaps a little more.

It was then that Tony’s mistake became clear. There was no way in hell that he was going to be able to sit patiently for two full hours, and with the slice on the palm of his hand, he couldn’t even properly work on anything during that time to distract himself. Nor could he head upstairs for food or rest or company, because anyone who saw his wound would complain and whine and just generally be irritating about his need to _know_. So instead, Tony wrapped a firm bandage around his hand and stepped into a suit.

JARVIS could monitor his vitals, he could check the wound every quarter of an hour, and he didn’t need to bend his hand in order to fly. There was hardly any pain so long as he kept his palm flat and didn’t crack the rapidly forming scab, and this way, he wouldn’t be so bored.

So Tony had jumped from a window and flown into the sky, relishing in the joy of having proper obstacles to dodge around the city, waving to the bleary eyed office workers gaping out of the windows. But still, he missed some of the open air, so he rocketed east down 42nd Street and flew by the good old UN HQ, arching high over the East River and breezing past Greenpoint. The buildings north of Cap’s old stomping ground were still tall but not quite as ridiculously so, and Tony enjoyed the open air above them without needing to fly quite so high. He alighted in a park to check his hand - healing nicely, the scar looking maybe a half day old - before jumping into the sky again, this time breezing through Bushwick, Elmhurst, Sunnyside, Astoria, not really paying attention to the world below him but loving the feel of the repulsors and the wind. JARVIS alerted him twice more to check the wound, and it didn’t take long before he was comfortable flying properly, using his left repulsor the way it was meant to be used, his flight path becoming more and more elaborate.

He was doing lazy flips and attracting the attention of several pedestrians and their phones when something collided into his legs and sent him careening into the side of a building. He only managed to avoid knocking down a wall by powering the jets and spinning to the side. The idiot wearing nothing but a red hoodie, a pair of sweats and really _weird_ set of goggles, however, was not so lucky. He was also not encased in metal and therefore instead of going through the wall, he merely smacked into it with a very painful _crack._

“Aw, shit,” said Tony, managing to catch the guy before he hit the sidewalk.

“Sir, you appear to have collided with the vigilante known as Spider-Man,” JARVIS said.

"Yeah, J, I got that."

The guy was out stone cold, even when Tony gave him a bit of a shake. But JARVIS used the suit to zap him with a low voltage charge and then he was wriggling like a trapped dolphin, and Tony almost lost his grip.

“Stay still will you? Jesus,” Tony snarled, his grip around Spider-Man’s waist tightening. Fabric covered hands scrabbled at Tony’s shoulders, catching strangely against the metal, but only for a few more seconds before the guy froze. Even with the goggles, Tony could tell that Spider-Man's eyes were wide. 

“Whoa,” he said, drawing out the sound in a manner that Tony was _entirely_ too familiar with. “You’re _Iron Man_.”

“The one and only,” Tony confirmed. “Now, if you don’t mind—“

“Mr Stark!” Spider-Man exclaimed, “Man, I am _so_ sorry, I didn’t see you, I was running late and I need to—“

“God, how _old_ are you?” Tony asked.

“Erm.” If Tony had been looking for the secret way to shut Spider-Man up, he’d certainly managed to find it. “I’m. I’m like. Old? I definitely have a driver’s licence."

“Are you serious right now?”

Spider-Man was still so close that Tony could see his frown through the fabric. “Yes,” he nodded, far too many times for the action to have any effect whatsoever. “I am so serious. In fact, I am so serious that I am running _late_ for my job in an _office_ , and I really do need to be going, so if you’ll just let me go I’ll—"

“No, wait!” Tony exclaimed, but the guy really _was_ like a bloody dolphin and he was out of Tony’s grip in a moment, actual webbing flying from his hands.

“I really am sorry, Mr Stark!” Spider-Man yelled as he swung down the street. “It was nice meeting you!”

Tony didn’t bother following him, though he knew that he _could_. He just didn’t need to.

The idiot was clearly in desperate need of an upgrade, and while Tony didn’t entirely _care_ , he felt that seeing someone that earnest end up a splatter because he couldn’t think to wear anything more durable than cotton and polyester would just be a waste.

So he made a note to go through JARVIS’ info on the guy and then he’d realised just exactly how young Spider-Man was, and after that, well.

After that, Tony had just been curious.

Which indirectly lead to the stalking, which lead to almost falling off a roof and being rescued by Loki, which lead to awkward discussions about how best to approach a teenager while eating breakfast the following morning.

“I think I’m just going to talk to him,” said Tony.

“You can’t do that,” Loki replied, shaking his head. “It won’t work, not in the way you want.”

“I don’t know about that,” said Tony. “Talking to people has been working out pretty great for me, lately.”

“You’re doing it alone then,” Loki said, amusedly. “I won’t come and help.”

“He’s like, fourteen, Rudolph,” Tony replied. “I think I’ll be fine.”

“Fifteen,” JARVIS cut in.

“Same difference.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Loki chuckled. “But if you think that’s going to work out best for you, you go right on ahead.”

“Oh I will,” Tony said. “Just you watch. I’m going to find him, and I’m going to talk to him. And you’re not going to stop me.”

Loki tilted his head, still smiling. “I’m not even going to try,” he said.

Tony frowned, still trying to work out the trap. “You’d tell me, right? If you thought this was a bad idea?”

“I believe that I _did_ ,” Loki pointed out.

“No, I mean—“ Tony shook his head. “You’re not trying to _stop_ me. So. You don't think it's  _dangerous._ But you do think this is bad. I’m just trying to work out what you know that I don’t.”

“I wouldn’t say I know something,” Loki replied. “If you think this is the best plan, then you should follow it.”

“You’re far too amused by this,” Tony said. “It’s worrying me.”

Loki’s grin was wide and wolfish, and it was definitely cause for concern.

“Okay,” Tony said. “I’m just going to…”

With one final searching glance at Loki’s disconcertingly entertained expression (which revealed absolutely _nothing_ ) Tony headed down to his workshop. He had a spider to catch.

—•—

The kid wasn’t very hard to find. It was almost embarrassing, actually, but then Tony did have JARVIS to help. JARVIS had already tracked his general movements, found an apartment block right in the centre of that radius, and then looked up the seven teenagers living in the building. Of those, four were female, and while the onesie wasn’t exactly a tight fit, Tony and JARVIS felt that they were safe with the assumption. Of the three left, one was a football quarterback at the local high school and far too tall to be the kid in the suit. The other two could have matched, if not for the fact that one of them had basketball practice the night before and had not been marked as absent.

That left only the one option.

Peter Parker, fifteen years old. Student at Midtown School of Science and Technology, member of the decathlon club, previously a straight A student until approximately five months ago, when his grades slowly began slipping and he’d dropped out of the robotics club.

His address was in the school’s records, and Tony was standing in a slightly dilapidated hallway in the middle of Queens only a few hours after he’d left Loki smirking at the breakfast table.

The kid’s Aunt answered the door, and she was immediately suspicious.

“You’re not Tony Stark,” she said, and went to shut the door on him. Tony was faster and jammed his hand into the frame before she should properly close it, and he was _so_ glad that she wasn’t mean enough to simply slam the thing.

“I promise you that I am,” Tony said. “I would introduce myself formally—“

“I’ve heard about the scams,” May Parker said. “I know all about how people are dressing up as superheroes and pretending they need to search a place and using it as an excuse to steal valuables.”

“I promise you, Ma’am,” said Tony. “I’m the real deal.” He pulled out his wallet to show her his driver's licence, and she considered it carefully. She still didn’t seem entirely convinced but her gaze caught on his black credit card as he slipped the license back into his wallet. That appeared to be more proof than the ID.

“If you really are Tony Stark,” she asked, “Why the hell are you here?”

“Does a Peter Parker live here by any chance?” Tony asked.

“Yes,” May replied, her eyes narrowing behind the still half closed door. “Why?”

“He applied for an internship at Stark Industries,” Tony said, showing her the StarkPad he’d brought with him on a whim and unlocking the screen. JARVIS, bless his soul, pulled up some info that looked really legit, along with Peter’s school records. “I’ve come to discuss it with him.”

May’s demeanour changed in an instant. “He applied for an internship?” she asked, her grip on the door going slack as she allowed it to open properly.

“He did,” Tony confirmed.

“And he didn’t _tell_ me?”

“I’m sure he was waiting to hear back first,” Tony said, his tone placating. “I’ll admit that I’m not following proper protocol, but his application really blew me away.” Tony was well aware that he was laying the charm on thick but hey, whatever works, right?

“He should have told me,” May said. “But I suppose there’s no changing that now.” She opened the door properly, and stood to the side. “Come on in, Mr Stark. Peter should be home from school in about an hour, and this seems to be a conversation we should have in a comfortable chair and over a cup of coffee.”

“Mrs Parker,” Tony said with a wide smile, “It would be my pleasure.”

The kid turned up right when May had said he would, and by the time the door was kicked open by a teenager in headphones and a t shirt adorned with a terrible physics joke that had Tony grinning, the two adults were on very good terms. May had agreed to let Peter enter into a Stark Industries internship (which, yeah, Tony should probably talk to Pepper about) and was even pleased about the prospect. She was brilliant to chat with, with a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue, but with a kindness about her that Tony hadn’t seen in many other people in his life. The kid was lucky to have her.

“Hey Aunt May,” said Peter, not even looking up as he threw down his bag and ducked his head into the fridge. “Have you seen outside? There’s this crazy cool car.”

May cleared her throat, amused, and Tony took great joy wiggling his fingers in a mischievous wave.

“Oh god,” said Peter, the poster child for nervous and horrified. “I mean— Mr Stark! You’re… why are… what’re you doing here?” The final word lifted up in a hopeful tilt. Ah, to have that much positivity. Too bad Tony would have to shatter it.

“Hello again, Peter,” Tony said brightly. “I’m here to finish our conversation.”

Peter’s expression fell. “Our... conversation?”

“Mr Stark has been telling me all about your application for the Stark Industries internship program,” May cut in, her eyes just as sharp as they were excited. “Why didn’t you tell me about your application, Peter?”

“The internship?" The poor kid had gone from terrified to hopeful to demoralised to confused all the space of ten seconds. “But I never—"

“Your application was brilliant, Peter,” Tony cut in over the words that would no doubt ruin Tony’s (and, let’s be honest, JARVIS’) carefully concocted cover story. He gave Peter a significant look that quite clearly conveyed the message of _play along if you want to live_. “I decided to come and talk to you in person.”

“Can you believe it?” May asked. “An internship!”

“Although, I am a bit disappointed that you didn’t clear it with your Aunt,” Tony continued. “We don’t normally let kids into the program with out their guardian’s permission.”

“I’m not just a _kid_ ,” Peter said.

“Maybe not _just_ ,” Tony said firmly, “but you sure are still underage.”

“He’s fifteen,” May said helpfully.

“Yes, it was in our files.” Tony smiled at her brightly. “Do you have any more questions, or do you mind if Peter and I have a chat?”

“Of course,” May said. “I’ll be right in here if you need anything.”

Peter looked like he was being lead to the slaughter as he made his way to his room, his hands twisting nervously and a soft tremor running through the muscles in his shoulders. Tony made sure that he stayed loose and approachable– the kid may only be fifteen, but he packed one hell of a punch.

“Mr Stark,” Peter said as Tony firmly shut the door, “I don’t know why you think I have, but I promise that I really haven’t applied for your—“

“Oh, I know,” said Tony. “But come on, Pete. You’re smart, I’ve seen your grades.”

“Well that’s embarrassing,” Peter muttered.

“I know that you’ve already worked out why I’m here,” Tony added.

“A computer glitch?” Peter suggested. “Because I’m being honest, I definitely didn’t—"

“You do realise that you don’t have any voice modification tech on your onesie, right?” Tony asked.

“It’s not a onesie,” Peter said immediately.

“The point stands,” Tony said. “I’d recognise that rambling anywhere.”

“No, you’re mistaken,” Peter said. “I wasn’t anywhere after school yesterday, I had to be back here, Aunt May and I went bowling, and I wasn’t even late.”

“Hmm.” Tony glanced up, and noticed the hatch in the ceiling. If he were a teenager, and he had a very sad attempt at a hero suit to hide from an inquisitive Aunt…

“It was someone else you ran into yesterday, Mr Stark. I was with Aunt May all afternoon.”

“I’m fairly certain that I never mentioned running into anyone yesterday,” Tony said with a smirk.

“Well.” Peter flushed. “It– I saw it on Tumblr.”

“Tumblr, huh?” Tony turned and picked up a bat that was leaning against the wall.

“Yeah, yeah. All the stuff about the Avengers gets on there real quick. Someone caught you crashing into Spider-Man on video. It’s a meme.”

“He crashed into _me_ ,” Tony pointed out, reaching up with the bat. Peter was about to reply but didn’t have the chance– Tony hit the hatch in the ceiling and the red and blue onesie fell out. Peter rushed forward, grabbed it and hid it in the closet in under a second but the deed was done, and Tony turned to him with a raised brow.

“All right,” Peter sighed, visibly deflating. “You got me.”

“So you’re Spider-Man,” Tony said. “You know, of all the names you could have chosen—“

“It… works,” Peter said with a shrug. “It’s more appropriate than Iron Man, I mean, you’ve said several times that the suit isn’t even made of iron.”

“I didn’t give myself that name, and it is so not my fault that the newspapers of the world don’t know science,” Tony snapped. “But you do. This webbing?”

Peter nodded. “I made it.”

“It’s incredible. I wasn’t kidding when I said your application amazed me.”

“Application? I told you I didn’t—“

“Not for an internship,” Tony cut in. “Or at least, not an internship with SI.”

“What are you getting at?” Peter asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Kid, you’re in serious need of an upgrade,” Tony started, but he didn’t get any further as the kid was already off on a rant.

“What you need to understand is that I’m not just some kid,” Peter said again. “I’m not. I’ve been doing this for a while now, for five whole months, and nothing you say is going to stop me. I mean, yeah, you’re an Avenger and you could stop me if you tried, but please don’t, Mr Stark, because I think I’m maybe doing a good thing and I _can_ help, I can, and if you’ve come in here just to stop me, well, you’re Iron Man, but I could still probably– but you’re friends with the _Hulk_ and Thor and they’re a bit—“

“I’m going to table the honestly offensive fact that you seem to think Thor is more of threat than me for a moment,” Tony interrupted, cutting the deteriorating monologue short. “Just answer me one question. Why do you do this?”

“Why do I— well, I’m just nervous, I swear, I don’t normally talk this much– well, I _do_ , but usually I—“

“No, the Spider-Man thing,” Tony clarified. “Why do you swing around the city in a onesie, webbing up the bad guys?”

“It’s _not_ a onesie,” Peter mumbled.

“Pyjamas,” Tony shot back.

“Look, I don’t have a whole lot to work with,” Peter said, rubbing at his arms in embarrassment. “I did the best I could, and it’s fine. Because I don’t have much, but I do have these powers, and I… I need to use them, because when you can do the things that I can, but you don’t? Then the bad things that happen? They happen because of you. So I’m going to use what I _do_ have to help in whatever way I can.”

“Hm.” Tony tilted his head, considering him. Tony tried not to show how much he thought of the kid’s words– how deeply they cut into him. “Come see me at the Tower tomorrow,” he said quickly.

“The Tower?” Peter’s eyes widened comically. “You mean _Avengers_ Tower?”

“Obviously. Just bring yourself. We can have a chat over lunch, talk about superhero stuff.”

“Oh my god, Mr Stark, this is– that would be _so_ cool, when you said ‘upgrade’ I didn’t realise that you meant– but I’ve got school tomorrow—“

“Then come _after_ school,” Tony retorted. “I’ll be in the shop most of the day tomorrow, anyway, I have some things to work on.”

“But I… I can’t see the other Avengers,” Peter said meekly. “I don’t want them to know who I am, just in case.”

“Does _anyone_ else know you’re Spider-Man?” Tony asked incredulously.

“No!” Peter said instantly. “I mean, well, actually, my friend Ned found out just last night, but other than that? No.“

“Kid, you’re a disaster,” Tony told him.

“Oh, I know,” Peter groaned. “I’m in detention more often than not, and I’m—“

“Avengers Tower. Tomorrow,” Tony said firmly. “Get yourself into an elevator and JARVIS’ll take you to my penthouse. He won’t let any of the others see you, I promise.”

Peter’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “What about security, or—“

“JARVIS is security. Don’t fret, you’ll be fine, tell your Aunt you’ve been accepted into the SI internship program, I’ll get Pep to do something official. You seem to have the whole secrecy thing down, I’m sure you’ll be able to sneak this past her, too.”

“It’s not like that,” Peter said. “If I told her, she’d freak, and then I’d freak, and then everything would be terrible. It would _suck._ ”

“Kid, I’m not here to tell you that you shouldn’t be hiding things from her,” said Tony. “But this is _not_ going to end well. There. Now, when it goes to shit, I can tell you that I told you so.”

“We can’t all just announce who we are on national TV,” Peter retorted.

“ _Inter_ national,” Tony corrected. “And you’re totally right, no one else can be as cool as Iron Man. Especially not in that onesie of yours.”

“It’s _not_ a—“

“Avengers Tower,” Tony repeated, leaving no room for argument. “After school. And I swear to god, if that eyesore comes into my penthouse, I am going to burn it.”


	2. Second Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I’m not recruiting him,” Tony said. “I’m not trying to make him an Avenger, not when he’s so… look. I just want to help, all right? He was flipping around in the skies and fighting criminals in his pyjamas. I had to do something.”_

Loki was watching Tony work from his perch upon a bench, his hand idly stroking Dummy, who had laid his claw in Loki’s lap. Tony would never understand his bot’s love for Loki, since the god had never changed his oil or given him upgrades or done anything, really, other than encourage his obsession with fire extinguishers. But then, Tony was head over heels for the guy, and he supposed that anything he had made couldn’t help but feel some level of fondness.

Tony knew that Loki didn’t exactly approve of what he was doing, but he also knew that the god didn’t _disapprove_. He saw the kid as below him to the extent that he was hardly worth the bother, little more than a small amusement that shouldn’t be worth Tony’s time. And the suit Tony was currently working on had taken a hell of a lot of time– working out how to not only place a high-tech AI inside a flexible, fabric suit but also to then _hide_ it from the user had taken a lot of delicate fiddling. He was only just now adding the finishing touches, and he was slightly regretful that he didn’t have the time to test all the systems. It really had taken a lot of work, and he knew that Loki was curious as to why he thought it was deserving of the effort. Even Tony wasn’t sure– but the kid’s earnest words were running through his mind on repeat, and he just knew that he couldn’t leave it alone.

“There are vigilantes running all over the place,” Loki said offhandedly, his fingers trailing over Dummy as the bot began to whirr in happiness. “Such as that tiny person JARVIS still complains about sometimes, and the man with a demon fetish. What makes this one different?”

“He’s just a kid,” Tony sighed. “I had JARVIS run a quick background check over them all, as much as he could manage. I know, I know, it’s creepy and I’m endangering their privacy and I feel bad about it, but I needed to know if they were going to be threats, and I– oh god, I’m starting to sound just like SHIELD did before they went under—“

“No,” Loki cut in, his sharp tone holding Tony back from falling into a dark hole. “I understand. You weren’t planning on releasing the information?”

“I didn’t even have JARVIS tell me,” Tony admitted slowly. “Not unless he picked something up. They’re all going to have to sign the Avengers’ Accords eventually, and if they stay in their little corners of the world then they’ll either keep quiet enough to not do any damage or get caught and have to face the law. But this one… JARVIS told me that he’s just a kid, and he’s out there swinging through the streets and taking on criminals in nothing but a onesie.”

“And you thought you’d what? Train him yourself, since the others have their hands full with the Maximoff boy?”

“No,” Tony instantly denied. “That onesie is an insult to superheroes everywhere. I am making it my mission to get that monstrosity off the streets.”

Loki snorted. “No. You wanted to help. JARVIS told you that he was a child and the hero inside you just couldn’t resist the pull of a _good deed_.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Tony asked, putting down the wires in his hands and turning to face Loki properly.

Loki’s lips twitched. “No,” he said again. “It’s not what I would do, but—“

“Oh, I know what you would do,” Tony replied. “Luckily, on this occasion, I am the one in the driver’s seat.”

Loki shrugged. “At the very least, it should be entertaining.”

Tony was able to put the finishing touches on the suit and even had the time to wire in a tracker (for safety purposes, obviously) before he was interrupted once again.

“Sirs,” said JARVIS, “Mr Parker is in the elevator, on his way up.”

“Great,” said Tony. “Send him to the penthouse, we’ll be there in a flash.”

“Oh we will, will we?” Loki asked, pushing Dummy away lightly and standing up. Dummy whirred sadly, and Loki gave him one final consoling pat before striding toward Tony.

Tony grinned. “Please, darling Loki, love of my life, possessor of my heart—“

“Sir, you do not have time for this,” JARVIS said.

Tony pouted. “But JARVIS—“

“I will take you to the penthouse,” Loki said. “On one condition.”

“I’m not letting you traumatise the kid,” Tony said immediately. “As much as he probably needs a good reminder of what he might end up facing if he continues on the path he’s on—“

“I wouldn’t traumatise him,” Loki sniffed, though it was so faked that Tony had to hold in the laugh.

“I can just take the stairs,” Tony said with a shrug, and he was already turning away when cool arms wrapped around his waist.

“I will promise not to traumatise your protégé in a manner that will have any long term effects,” Loki whispered into his ear.

“Hang on,” said Tony, spinning back around, “He’s not my protégé.”

“So you agree?” Loki asked, and distracted Tony with a press of lips against skin and when Tony opened his eyes he was standing in the middle of the penthouse.

“This doesn’t mean I’m condoning your pranks,” Tony told him.

“You don’t usually seem to mind,” Loki said.

“I will admit that the week you spent convincing Steve that the Dodgers were going to come back to New York only to be based in Queens was pretty inspired.”

Loki grinned brightly, the curve of his lips tracing smiles across Tony’s skin. “Ah, yes. Who knew the good Captain could give voice to _quite_ so many colourful expletives?”

“He has quite the imagination when he doesn’t put his mind to it,” Tony said, matching Loki’s grin and leaning further into his arms. “But when he realises what he’s saying? Nah.”

Loki was pressed so close that Tony could feel his breath whispering over his cheek, and he wanted nothing more than to turn his head and capture it with his lips. But then a loud gasp sounded through the room, and Tony’s attention snapped in the opposite direction to where Peter was standing by the open elevator doors, his eyes wide and panicked.

“I know you,” Peter said, his gaze caught on Loki. “I’ve seen you on the Internet. You’re—“

“Loki, of Asgard,” Loki said, unwinding from Tony to stride toward Peter, holding out his hand in invitation.

Peter stumbled backward at Loki’s approach. “No,” he gasped. “You can’t be here, not—“

“Peter,” Tony said, pushing past Loki and placing his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “It’s all right.”

“He’s the one who attacked New York.” Peter stared at Tony, his pupils blown wide. “He killed _hundreds_ of people—“

“He’s changed,” Tony said quickly. “He’s on our side, now.”

“I’ll leave you to your discussion, Anthony,” Loki said briskly, and when Tony looked around he was already facing the other way. “I know when I am not welcome.”

The tight set of Loki’s shoulders had Tony moving again, and in moments he was back with Loki, his hands curling around the god’s.

“Just let me explain—“

“You will,” Loki said, his expression carefully bland, only the smallest and falsest of placating smiles gracing his lips. “I know that you will. But it will be easier for both the child _and_ myself if I am not present.”

Tony raised his hand to cup Loki’s cheek, brushing his thumb across the smooth skin.

“Okay,” he said softly. “But just promise me that we’ll talk about this later.”

Loki’s smile became a little more real. “You really do have a thing for talking, recently,” he said.

Tony shrugged. “It really does seem to be working.”

With another soft smile, Loki softly brushed his fingers over the back of Tony’s hand before turning and heading out of the room, leaving Tony to deal with the distressed teenager.

“Hey,” said Tony, moving back to where Peter had pressed himself against the wall. “It’s all right, Peter. I promise, he’s not going to hurt you.”

“I know that,” Peter said, closing his eyes for a moment before steeling himself and pushing away from the wall, moving toward Tony. “I _know_ that. I said I’d seen him on the Internet, and you know already that I follow the Avengers on Tumblr. I know you guys are together, now, and I didn’t get it at first, but I’ve seen the videos of what happened in Austria.”

“He’s on our side,” Tony said again.

“Yeah,” Peter said. “But I remember New York, and I remember that he was at fault for all of that. And I know, in my head, that he’s changed. But I also know that he killed a whole heap of New Yorkers, and that he hasn’t been punished for it.”

“He has,” Tony said immediately. “He was imprisoned for _months._ ”

“Months?” Peter asked. He didn’t look angry, but he didn’t look satisfied either, the tilt to his head screaming disbelief. “On Earth, he probably would have received several life sentences.”

“Not necessarily,” Tony sighed. “Sometimes, when a criminal has a special skill, they’re recruited rather than punished.”

“Oh,” said Peter. “You mean like in that really old movie, _Shawshank Redemption_?”

“Less corrupt prison guards, more desperate government agencies,” Tony said with a shrug. “But yeah, sort of like that. SHIELD did it a lot– Black Widow, just to name one, has a rap sheet a mile long.”

“You’re saying Loki’s working with you because it’s his punishment?” Peter asked.

“Yes,” said Tony. “Wait– _No._ That’s not why he’s with me, but that _is_ his current status. You don’t need to know the whole story, but just understand that he’s not going to be doing anything truly nefarious. Asgard cleared him of his crimes, and yes, okay, there was a little bit of coercion involved but he really has _changed_.” Slightly aware that he sounded a bit like a lovesick teenaged protagonist of a YA novel, Tony shook his head and added– “He’s still insane, of course, but he doesn’t want to take over the planet any more. And he isn’t about to hurt anyone that doesn’t hurt him first.”

“Okay Mr Stark,” Peter said slowly. “I believe you. So long as he doesn’t do anything else… I can’t forgive him yet, but I can give him the opportunity to earn that.”

Tony smiled. “You are actually fairly wise, aren’t you?” he said.

Peter’s eyes gleamed. “Does that mean you’ve changed your mind on my Spider-suit?” he asked.

“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t ask that,” Tony replied, his tone immediately sharpening.

“Are you sure?” Peter asked. “Because I’ve got it right here.” Peter took his school bag off his back and he’d barely unzipped it, giving Tony a view of the red fabric inside, before Tony snatched it off him and started to storm toward the elevator.

“I said that I would burn this thing, Peter,” he said. “Did you think I was kidding?”

“Mr Stark!” Peter exclaimed, chasing after him. “I didn’t mean—“

“Nope,” said Tony. “I don’t want to hear it. Dummy hasn’t had the chance to use his extinguisher in a while, this should lift his spirits.” They stepped into the elevator and Tony said— “Workshop please, JARVIS.”

“Of course, Sir.”

“Okay so we are so not done talking about my suit,” Peter said, “But I just want to say that I think your JARVIS is awesome.”

“Thank you, Mr Parker,” said JARVIS. “And Sir, if I am allowed to give my own opinion– Mr Parker was telling me earlier how hard he worked on his suit. Perhaps he should be allowed to keep it?”

“Yeah, totally awesome,” Peter said again.

“I told him what would happen if he brought it here,” Tony said. “But all right. Peter, I will let you have this back…”

“If?” Peter asked meekly, following Tony out of the elevator and into the hallway by the workshop.

“If you swear to never put it on again,” Tony said. JARVIS opened the workshop doors for them and Tony strode in. “I can understand the desire to keep old and crappy suits, after all. My workshop in Malibu still has the first six Iron Man armours on display. The most important thing is that you just need to remember when you’re due for an upgrade.”

When no response was forthcoming, Tony glanced back to find Peter once again standing in a doorway, his eyes as round as dinner plates.

“Peter?” Tony said, throwing down the backpack and moving to the bench he had been working at earlier. When the kid finally looked over, Tony held up the new and improved suit. “I present to you– your upgrade.”

The noise Peter made could only be described as a _squeak_ , and he caught his leg on the corner of Dummy’s base as he charged over and went flying across the floor. Dummy’s claw lowered in guilt and he rolled forward, gripping Peter’s shirt and pulling in a clear attempt to help the kid off the floor, but mostly only managing to crease the material and smush Peter’s face firmly into the concrete.

Tony waited patiently (and yeah, okay, maybe he giggled a bit) while Peter managed to get himself upright, and he patted Dummy’s claw when he finally found his feet.

“What’s your name?” Peter asked.

“Dummy doesn’t talk, Mr Parker,” JARVIS told him, and Dummy whirred indignantly. “At least, he doesn’t speak English,” JARVIS corrected.

“Oh,” said Peter. “But you understand me, right?” Dummy bobbed his claw, and Peter grinned. “Awesome. Well, nice to meet you, Dummy.”

“Dummy, stop monopolising Peter’s attention, it’s bad enough that you do it when Loki’s in here,” Tony snapped. “And _you_ , get yourself over here. I want you to drool over your new suit.”

Peter’s reaction was less drooling and more along the lines of high pitched squealing, his hands waving excitedly and his chatterbox mouth on full speed ahead, questions and exclamations and _ohmygod_ s firing off rapidly.

It took a while for Tony to calm him and even longer to explain even the basic features, but watching Peter’s bright smile as he demonstrated the new capabilities of the upgraded web-shooters to Dummy warmed something in Tony’s heart.

—•—

Peter left after a couple of hours of messing around with the suit in the Avengers’ training rooms, which Tony had asked JARVIS to clear before allowing Peter the run of the place. Only Maximoff had been using the facility at the time and Tony knew the guy hated Tony’s guts, and would have left even without being asked had he known it was Tony headed into the room.

Maximoff was a bit of a lurker. He didn’t stay in the Tower, couldn’t cope with being somewhere that Loki lived, even if only temporarily. He’d made a deal to work with the Avengers and therefore needed to visit regularly, but he tended to leave the room rather _quickly_ whenever Tony or Loki entered it. Tony hadn’t even seen the guy in the whole two weeks that he and Loki had been in New York.

That suited him just fine, however. He still couldn’t quite get the image of Maximoff leaning over him, teeth bared and spitting death threats while his sister held Steve down with the power of her mind. She was no longer a threat, but having Pietro in his own home put Tony a little on edge. So he was more than happy to shoo the guy away before letting Peter have his fun.

JARVIS had done his job, and no one was any the wiser to Peter’s presence. They all greeted Tony as he passed through the common floor kitchen on his way up, with Thor loudly asking Tony whether Loki was all right. Apparently he’d brushed Thor off with more violence than sharp words a little earlier, and Thor was worried.

Promising that the problem was nothing serious and that Tony would be able to cheer Loki up, Tony grabbed two portions of the curry Bruce had cooked and headed up to the penthouse.

“Hey Loki,” Tony called as he exited the elevator. “I brought dinner.”

His holler turned out to be unnecessary– Loki was sitting on the couch in the main area, his head bowed. He turned when Tony entered with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, and shifted across the seat in a clear invitation. Tony made sure to sit close, their sides pressed warmly together, and wordlessly passed Loki his bowl and a spoon.

“Peter liked his suit,” Tony told him after a few mouthfuls.

“Of course he did,” Loki replied, not looking up from his food. “You made it.”

“Aw.” Tony flashed a grin that probably went unseen. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

Loki shrugged, but didn’t say much else. It didn’t take Tony’s genius to work out what the problem was.

“He understands, you know,” Tony said, placing his half eaten food on the coffee table in front of him and turning to face Loki properly.

“No,” said Loki, his spoon pausing halfway to the bowl. “He does not.”

“He’s trying,” Tony insisted. “You had to know that it wasn’t going to be easy– hell, I’m sure that Pepper’s reaction is just as clear in your mind as it is in mine. But he gets that you’ve changed.”

Loki closed his eyes, his grip on the utensil so tight that the spoon had begun to bend. Tony reached out and closed his fingers over Loki’s, squeezing gently in comfort.

“Hey,” said Tony. “You’ll prove to them that you’ve changed.”

"That's just the issue," Loki said, his voice grating. "I do not believe that I have."

"Loki, that's not—"

“Did I ever tell you why I chose to attack Midgard?” Loki asked, his green eyes snapping open and boring deeply into Tony.

“No,” Tony replied. “But I don’t need you to.” To be honest, Tony didn’t really _want_ to know. But nor did he think it mattered, because he knew without a doubt that Loki wouldn’t be doing it again. He didn’t want to face the anguish of remembering Loki that way when he _knew_ that the man he loved wasn’t like that any more.

“I think that _I_ need me to,” Loki replied. “I don’t care what that child thinks of me, and I don’t care about the rest of your planet. But I _do_ care about how you see me, and if at any point you thought the way that he does—“

“I don’t,” Tony stressed. “I know that you’re not going to hurt me.”

“Of course not,” Loki agreed. “But I… I need you to know that I never wanted to in the first place.”

Tony frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that it wasn’t entirely my choice.” Loki looked away, his gaze resting on the bowl still in his left hand. “I do not want to shift any blame, I know exactly what I did. And I need you to understand that I attacked your home willingly, that I was not under any mind control.”

“Yet you weren’t entirely a free agent, were you?” Tony realised, horror burgeoning in his chest. Because if Loki had been acting under someone else's direction... well, putting that together with what Tony already knew resulted in only the one conclusion. “This was Thanos.”

Loki nodded.

Tony's mind was invaded by the image of a wide, purple fist encased in gold cracking Loki’s skull with ease, and he gripped Loki’s hand tighter. He knew that what he’d seen had been the witch’s tricks, but he also knew that it was an entirely possible future. Loki was terrified of Thanos, and Tony had thought that fear stemmed from Thanos’ power and leadership of the Chitauri. But it had never been more clear that it was worse than that.

“What did he do to you?” Tony asked.

“Suffice to say that it was not pleasant,” Loki said darkly. His bowl vanished and he turned his hands to hold Tony’s instead. “He tore me apart from the inside out, and then threw me to Earth and ordered me to collect the Tesseract. I did all that I could to ensure his failure, but not out of a desire to help the humans.” Loki’s eyes flashed. “I merely wanted to ensure that he did not get what he wanted, acting out of spite and what small measure of revenge I could manage. He may have shattered me, but I didn’t _break_. Even with the Other watching I managed to stop him, if only temporarily.”

Tony didn’t think he would be able to find the words, so he didn’t even try. Instead, he pulled Loki close and held on tight, clinging just as much for his own comfort as for Loki's. 

“I didn’t want to attack Midgard,” Loki whispered into Tony’s shoulder. “I didn’t want to cause all that destruction, not when you had never done anything to me. But I knew that I had to, for my own sake. The attack was an act of selfishness, and while I do not regret my motivation, I am sorry now for the hardship it placed on you and your people.”

“You stopped him,” Tony said, pressing a kiss to Loki’s hair. “You saved Earth just as surely as we did.”

“Please don’t lie,” Loki replied. And when Tony tried to continue, Loki pulled away enough so that he was able to look into Tony’s eyes. “No, listen to me. It was years ago now, and while I know that it is not all in the past, I have managed to see beyond it. It isn’t something that I wish to dwell on, but… I would know your thoughts.”

Loki’s eyes were burning, the deep green boring into Tony, watching for a lie. But Loki should have known that at this point, after everything, Tony wasn’t going to let him go. Tony knew Loki well enough, though, to be sure that he was going to need to actually hear it.

“You want to hear what I think about all this?” Tony asked. “I think that you’re strong, stronger than anyone else that I know.”

“You…” Loki held Tony’s gaze despite emerging reluctance. “Truly?”

“Most definitely,” Tony said firmly. “So, will you stop worrying that something from your past is going to make me hate you? It’s not going to happen, okay?”

“I didn’t think you’d hate me,” Loki said, and Tony was both pleased and moved to see the honesty in his gaze. “But a person doesn’t need hate to disapprove, and disapproval can lead to bitterness.”

“No,” said Tony. “You were right when you said that this wasn’t in the past, but we’re dealing with it. Yeah?”

Loki smiled, and it was a little broken, but it was real. “Yes.”

“Good,” said Tony. “Glad we got that sorted.”

“Anthony?” Loki said.

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“I think you had better kiss me now.”

Tony laughed, and did as he was told.

—•—

The next morning, Loki said that there was something he wished to see to elsewhere, and so Tony was left heading to the common floor to find some company for breakfast. But the area was not as crowded as it usually tended to be– Clint and Natasha were in the living room playing something on the Wii, and the kitchen was occupied by only Bruce, who was cooking, and Steve.

“Where’s Thor?” Tony asked, settling at the breakfast bar beside Steve.

“He’s been called back to Asgard,” said Steve, raising an eyebrow and looking at Tony significantly. “Something about a lady called Iðunn claiming that she’d been robbed?”

“Sounds serious,” Tony said with a shrug, though inside he was reeling. _Crap._

“Apparently whoever stole from her will be facing serious consequences,” Steve added, his tone hard.

“I feel like I’m missing something,” said Bruce. “Isn’t Iðunn—“

“The goddess of youth?” Tony cut in. “Yes, she is. Loki tells me she makes a killer apple pie.” He glared at Bruce, who frowned, but thankfully took the cue to shut up.

Steve was still watching Tony with narrowed eyes, but thankfully he was saved when Clint and Natasha wandered in from the living room.

“Oh hey, Tony,” Clint said, leaning against the breakfast bar while Natasha walked past him to help Bruce at the stove. “Tasha and I were just talking about how strange it is that Spider-Guy has a new high-tech suit, seemingly out of nowhere.”

“Yeah, that _is_ weird,” Tony said.

“We only know one person who makes it his business to outfit superheroes,” Clint said.

Tony widened his eyes. “You’re absolutely right,” he said, and Clint frowned in confusion for a moment.

“What’re you—“

“JARVIS,” Tony said, crossing his arms and looking to the nearest camera with a disappointed frown. “Have you been supplying gear to Spider-Man without asking?”

“You _know_ that’s not what I’m talking about,” Clint said.

“What? You do realise that JARVIS does most of the actual rendering of your suits. You shouldn’t diminish his efforts.”

“I would like to plead the fifth,” JARVIS said.

“You can’t do that when you’re the one on trial, J,” Tony complained. “I _know_ that you know that, you have access to the Internet for god’s sake.”

“He’s not the one on trial here, Stark, and I think he _does_ know _that_ ,” Clint replied.

“Tony,” Steve cut in. “You shouldn’t have started to recruit a new member without discussing it with us first.”

“I’m not recruiting him,” Tony said after a pause, standing from his seat and moving to make a coffee, half relishing in the fact that the action meant he didn’t have to face the others. “I’m not trying to make him an Avenger, not when he’s so… look. I just want to help, all right? He was flipping around in the skies and fighting criminals in his pyjamas. I had to do _something_.”

“He’s going to have to sign the Accords, Tony,” said Steve. “Pietro did, and so has—”

“Maximoff wasn’t given a choice,” Tony snapped. “Plus, Spider-Man is still a minor, he—“

“A minor?” Steve asked, incredulous. “You’re not—“

“I told you, he isn’t ready,” Tony interrupted. “I just offered to help him.”

“Tony,” Natasha said softly. “Why?”

“Because…” Tony sighed, put down the coffee pot and turned to face them all head on. “Because he’s just a kid, but he really wants to do his bit. And because I know that he’s going to be out there with or without my help, but maybe, _with_ help, he’ll be a bit safer.”

“You feel responsible,” Steve summarised. “You do know it isn’t your job to help every single person?”

“No,” Tony said, shaking his head. “It _is_. It’s _our_ job. I had that explained to me by a pretty smart kid recently. If we can help, but we don’t…“

“Then it’s on us,” Steve finished. “I get that.”

“I don’t,” said Clint.

“I don’t need you to,” Tony replied. “I just… I can’t stand by and do nothing.”

Steve’s gaze locked with Tony’s, the silence ringing loudly between them. Tony saw the exact moment when Steve’s expression softened, when that kid from Brooklyn won out over the battle weary hero.

“If Spider-Man wants to join us properly, he’ll be welcome,” Steve said firmly, and the others nodded their agreement. “We’ll explain to the council that he’s a minor, there’ll have to be some adjustments made.”

Tony smiled. “Thanks, guys. But I don’t think it’s going to come to that. He’s still just a kid, after all.”

“Kids can grow up all too fast,” Natasha said, not a hint of irony in her tone. “I know that better than most.”

“And that’s exactly why I’m going to help him,” Tony responded. “But I don’t think he’s ready to join the big league.”

“Agreed. But if you say he’ll be out there anyway… he deserves to be helped.” Steve smiled. “If _you_ need any help, just ask.”

“Thanks Cap,” said Tony. “I’ll keep that in mind, but for now, I’m all good.”

 _All good?_ Well, it wasn’t a lie, but there really was one huge thing that he hadn’t quite given due thought.

He was Tony Stark - genius, billionaire, philanthropist, Avenger - and he had _no fucking clue_ how to deal with a teenager.

—•—

‘ _Hey Mr Stark. Just wondering whether you needed my help with anything?’_

_‘No. Aren’t you in school?’_

_‘Chem’s easy.’_

_‘Then why are you getting a B?’_

_‘That’s still creepy, you know. I can’t believe you stalked me.’_

_‘Quit bothering me, kid. Go back to your titration.’_

_‘Creepy.’_

Tony glared at his phone, irritated that he had given the kid his own number.

“Can’t I just swap out with Happy, or something,” Tony complained to Loki, showing him the numerous texts he’d received from the kid over the past few days. It was easy enough to do so– they were both sprawled on the couch in the penthouse, Tony’s head in Loki’s lap. Tony had been working on schematics on his StarkPad while Loki read, but he had been distracted by the kid’s incessant messages. “This is ridiculous.”

“I did warn you,” Loki replied with a shrug, going back to his book.

‘ _Hey Mr Stark?’_ Peter sent not twenty minutes later. Oh for the love of—

‘ _What now?_ ’ Tony tapped out.

‘ _I need some advice_.’

‘ _No, you definitely shouldn’t make a volcano for your science fair. Yes, you really should tell your Aunt that walnut date loaf is not an acceptable snack to give guests and No, you really shouldn’t have sex in the school bathrooms, it’s incredibly unhygienic.’_

_‘Gross. But I was actually talking about some specific advice.’_

_‘I’m not the person to ask.’_

_‘You don’t even know the question.’_

_‘You’re in high school. It’s either going to be about Spider-Man, homework, or relationships, and if it was either of the first two you’d have said so already.’_

_‘You know, that is stereotyping and generalising and very unfair!’_

_‘Oooh, someone’s been paying attention in English, at least.’_

_‘Whatever, it’s still true.’_

Tony waited, knowing there would be more. And sure enough, a second later—

_‘Okay. So. There’s this girl.’_

_‘I am so not qualified to deal with this.’_

_‘Yes you are, you’re the most qualified person I know!’_

Tony snorted. _‘I’m doing my best not to be insulted, here.’_

_‘I don’t mean anything bad by it, Mr Stark! But Ned has less of a clue than me and I don’t have anyone else I can ask.’_

Tony stared at the screen for a moment.

“Since when did this happen?” he complained aloud. Loki glanced up from the book once again.

“Since when did what?” he asked.

Tony shook his head. “It’s Peter. He thinks I’m qualified to give relationship advice.”

Loki, the absolute bastard, started to laugh.

“Come on,” Tony said. “ _Help_ me.”

“I’m no more qualified than you are,” Loki chuckled. “Less so, perhaps, considering that I have no idea how these things work on Midgard.”

Tony whined. It didn’t help– Loki still looked amused by the whole thing, and even put his book to the side and leaned down to read the screen.

‘ _Mr Stark?’_ Peter sent. ‘ _I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bother you. I know you’re busy.’_

 _I know you’re busy_. For the love of god, were there any of Tony’s heartstrings that this kid didn’t jump all over?

‘ _Not busy, just thinking_ ,’ Tony sent back. _‘I’m really not a good person to ask, you know.’_

 _‘Why not?’_ Peter asked. ‘ _You literally have one of the best relationships I know. Surely you’re doing something right, right?’_

Tony gaped for a moment.

“Well, he _is_ right,” Loki commented, nudging Tony’s shoulder. “Tell the child how you wooed me, Stark.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that telling the kid to imprison his crush and then give her a fridge if she ever shows up again is the greatest advice.”

“That’s not why I’m still here,” Loki said. “But you’re right. There’s no way he could manage the unique mixture of insanity and recklessness that is the foundation of your winning personality.”

Tony frowned. “I’m sure there was a compliment in there somewhere,” he said.

“Definitely not,” said Loki, running a hand through Tony’s hair.

Tony smiled at the warm affection in Loki’s gaze despite the words, then turned back to his StarkPad.

‘ _Just be yourself,’_ Tony messaged Peter, wincing at the cliché. _‘I know it sounds dumb, but there’s no point in doing anything else. You try to be cool or whatever, you’ll just mess it up and end up looking stupid. Trust me on that one. Just be yourself, and if she doesn’t like that, well. Then you don’t want her anyway._ ’

There was a _long_ pause before the response came through.

‘ _They want to meet Spider-Man_ ,’ Peter said, and Tony stared. Thankfully, another bubble popped up on Tony’s screen with an explanation. ‘ _Ned let slip that I *know* Spider-Man, and they didn’t believe me and told me to bring him to the party tonight. I want to go because it’s at Liz’s house, but. What if I mess up? You know what I’m like when I’m nervous.’_

Tony sighed.

‘ _I know what you’re thinking, and it is NOT a good idea.’_

_‘You said to be myself, and Spider-Man is part of me.’_

_‘Spider-Man isn’t the one who wants to go on a date,’_ Tony shot back. ‘ _And if the girl doesn’t like Peter, then trust me. She’s an idiot.’_

_‘She’s the smartest kid in her year.’_

_‘Well, then_.’ Tony smirked. ‘ _I guess you’ve got nothing to worry about.’_

There was another pause, and then—

‘ _I’m going to go to the party. Without the mask._ ’ Peter sent, and Tony grinned.

‘ _Tell me how it goes._ ’

When Peter’s response came through Tony was left with the arduous task of explaining emojis to an Asgardian, all the while experiencing that horrible feeling that after that conversation, he was going to be subjected to more emojis than he was comfortable dealing with.

—•—

If Tony had been asked, he might have predicted that he’d next hear from Peter in the morning, if at all. Tony remembered what parties were like at that age (though admittedly, at fifteen, Tony had been in MIT rather than high school) and at the very least Peter was likely going to be too embarrassed to say anything about it to anyone. So when Tony received a phone call at only ten pm, he assumed the worst and answered it. Because yeah, the kid was annoying, but Tony _did_ remember what parties could be like at that age, high school or not, and he could still picture the message with the _I don’t have anyone else_. If this was something Peter didn’t want to go to May about—

“Mr Stark! Thank god, I didn’t think you’d pick up,” Peter said breathlessly.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked immediately.

“I’ve found more of those weird alien weapon thingies!”

“What?” Tony exclaimed. “I thought you were at a party?”

“Well, I was, long story, but right now I need you to meet me at, erm, I’m moving pretty quick—“

“I have his location, Sir,” said JARVIS.

“What?” It was Peter’s turn to exclaim. “How?”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Tony asked, ignoring the kid. “Let’s go!”

Peter was on the far side of Queens from Manhattan, and while the new and improved suit was fast it wasn’t _that_ fast. Had Tony been thinking clearly he might have asked Loki for a lift and arrived a hell of a lot faster, but in the time it took for Tony to fly across the boroughs Peter had somehow managed to end up a thousand feet in the air and was in the process of heading back to Earth the quick way.

“Peter!” Tony shouted, “Hang on!”

“Mr Stark!” Peter yelled, JARVIS connecting the coms in their suits without needing to be asked.

Tony could see something big flying away but he was focused on the kid in freefall, and he raced forward to snatch Spider-Man out of the sky for the second time since they’d met.

“Whoa,” Peter gasped as Tony tackled him mid air and levelled out. “Oh, thanks.”

Tony landed them in a nearby park and all but fell out of the suit.

“What the hell were you doing?” he asked, watching as Peter pulled off his mask.

“I was helping,” Peter said. “Like the Avengers do. Like I always _have_.”

“Oh, no,” said Tony. “You were supposed to be at a party. How does that escalate to you in a thousand foot freefall, exactly?”

“Well, all the kids were chanting, and I just couldn’t cope, and Ned said I should put the suit on—“

“Oh, Pete,” Tony groaned. “You didn’t.”

“I thought about it,” Peter admitted. “But I remembered what you said, and then I saw the explosion.”

“So, naturally, you ran toward it,” Tony said, nodding and finding it a real battle to keep his voice steady. Was this what it felt like to be Pepper? “Okay. What then?”

“I went to check it out,” Peter said. “I thought it might have been more of those weapons like at the bank, the ones JARVIS said that Mr Loki thought were like the ones from the aliens who attacked New York?”

“JARVIS?” Toy asked in exasperation.

“You didn’t say that I _couldn’t_ speak to him,” JARVIS replied indignantly from the suit.

"You have been spending  _way_ too much time with Loki," Tony groaned. 

“Don’t blame him,” said Peter. “So anyway, I thought that I had better be sure before I bothered you, but they spotted me and bolted so I chased the van - that was when I called you - and then that other guy flew in from nowhere like _whoosh_ and grabbed me!”

“And then he dropped you,” Tony concluded. “You really are difficult to hold on to.”

“So, what do you think?” Peter asked, spreading his arms. “This guy with the wings is obviously the one supplying them with weapons—“

“I think you need to chill for a moment,” said Tony.

“No! Mr Stark, I found them, I’ve faced these weapons twice now—“

“Yeah, and both times you’ve _lost_ —“

“I didn’t lose the first time, if the guy hadn’t dropped his gun I would have—“

“So you were beaten by incompetence? Peter, that’s _worse_.“

“I nearly had him, and they weren’t incompetent!”

“And the second time, Peter?” Tony asked, his voice softening. “What if I hadn’t been able to get here in time?”

Peter fell silent, and looked at his feet. “I thanked you for that already,” he muttered.

“Yes, and you’re welcome,” Tony replied. “But that doesn’t negate what might have happened.”

“And what _might_ have happened doesn’t matter because it _didn’t_ ,” Peter snapped.

“What about next time, then?” Tony said. “What if the next time it takes me too long to get here?”

“Sir,” JARVIS interrupted, “I’m detecting a familiar energy signature nearby.”

“Yeah, yeah, go check it out, will you?” Tony said. “I’m not done talking with the kid.”

Iron Man flew off as directed, JARVIS taking the helm.

“Hey,” said Peter. “I’ve told you, I’m not just some _kid_. I’ve been Spider-Man for five months, and I’ve only known you for a few days, and I was going fine before. You’re Iron Man, but that doesn’t mean that you get to boss me around.”

“No, that’s exactly what that means,” Tony snapped. “God, you’re—“

“I’m Spider-Man,” Peter snapped. “And yeah, okay, I’m no Avenger, but I’m not ordinary, either. Just let me help! I think I did okay today.”

Peter’s frown was deep and earnest and Tony sighed, not even glancing away from Peter as JARVIS returned with some kind of glowy purple battery and encased Tony in the suit once again.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, all right, you did good today. But that doesn’t mean I want you in danger. Thank you, for calling me, but next time at least let JARVIS know what you’re up to from the start, okay? That way, if something goes wrong he can let me know, even if you can’t.”

Peter smiled. “Okay, Mr Stark,” he said. “I promise.”

“And come back around to the Tower at some point this weekend,” Tony added before taking off, energy source in hand. “I think I need to add a parachute to that suit of yours.”


	3. Third Time's a Pattern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Peter’s hands flapped uselessly through the air, his masked head switching back and forth between Tony and the others. “Holy shit,” he said again. “You could have warned me, Mr Stark!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to take this moment to say thanks to [whimsicalwombat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsicalwombat/pseuds/whimsicalwombat), who is scarily good at inventing methods of torture for me to threaten my favourite characters with and who also heroically convinced me not to use the words 'dramatically' and 'drama queen' in the same sentence.

The kid had some school thing in D.C., and Tony was glad. In between determining that the power source JARVIS had collected from the night of Peter’s party was Chitauri as Loki had suspected and building another Spider-Man suit even better than the last, Tony thought that maybe he’d manage to get a bit of peace and quiet for the first time since colliding with the kid in Queens. Maybe he’d be able to open his phone without seeing a text message, and maybe he’d be able to spend some time with Loki without being constantly goaded about the flashing notifications and the clinginess of Tony’s ‘protégé’.

But of course, it wasn’t to be. As well as being updated on the ‘Liz Situation’ and being told that Ned was asking for an autograph (and seriously, Tony still wasn’t entirely sure who the hell ‘Ned’ even _was_ ), Tony was also told when the school won the competition, about how they had been able to go all the way to the top of the Washington Monument, and how Peter had somehow managed to track the guy with the giant ass wings to an area that was unfortunately too close to a certain facility to be a coincidence.

Tony checked, and he found that the D.O.D.C. had lost a truckload of stuff.

Well, crap.

Things were starting to get serious, and Tony didn’t think the kid would be able to resist getting in over his head. But when he did, he wasn’t going to face it alone.

—•—

‘ _Mr Stark, I know where the vulture is going to be!’_

 _‘Okay, first of all, we are_ not _calling him that. Second– where the hell are you getting your information from?’_

_‘No time! Meet me at the staten island ferry stat!’_

—•—

Tony arrived at the ferry dock before Peter did, having enlisted a little help. He had JARVIS send the kid the location, and it was only a few minutes before Spider-Man was swinging in and landing a flip perfectly on the ground. 

“Holy shit,” said Peter, staring around at the assembled group, managing to ignore the smell of the dumpsters they had taken shelter with. 

“Careful,” said Natasha. “Cap doesn’t like that sort of language.”

Peter’s hands flapped uselessly through the air, his masked head switching back and forth between Tony and the others. “Holy _shit_ ,” he said again. “You could have warned me, Mr Stark!”

“Well, you said you didn’t want to meet them,” Tony said, his suit whirring with the movement of his shrug. Anyone who knew him well could have picked out the stiffness in his tone, but Peter didn’t seem to notice. “So I thought it would be better if I didn’t tell you.”

“How is that better?” Peter whined.

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Natasha supplied, her eyes dancing with amusement. “So Stark’s plan appears to have had some merit.”

“Like I wouldn’t have come– you’re the _Avengers_. This is so cool!”

“Feeling a little underappreciated,” Tony muttered. Loki patted him on the arm consolingly, a steady smile in place. It didn’t escape Tony’s notice that Peter hadn’t shied away from the god, and was looking around the _whole_ group with equal interest, now.

“Hey, Spider-Guy!” Clint said, stepping forward and holding out a hand for a fist bump that Peter excitedly gave. “Nice to meet you.”

“I can’t believe you’re all here,” Peter said, the expressive eyes on his suit widening comically. “How’d you get here so quick?”

“We came via Asgardian express,” said Bruce, gesturing to Loki. “He had to make a couple trips.”

“And you shall never do so again,” Loki huffed. “Honestly, I’m not a public transport service.”

“Stop complaining, dude,” said Clint. “We all do our part on this team.”

Loki glared, and a weaker man might have withered. But Clint giggled. He never did have a good sense of self-preservation.

“Never mind that,” said Tony, striding forward to stand angrily in front of Peter. He had a serious issue to hash out, one that he’d only noticed when he’d asked JARVIS to work out who’d told Peter about the ferry, and damn but that was slightly embarrassing. “Kid. Did you _hack your suit_?”

“The tracker was creepy, man,” Peter complained, not even trying to deny it.

“It was useful, you mean!”

“Also, Karen is awesome, and she’s my friend now, you can’t take her away—“

Tony groaned. The kid wasn’t supposed to have discovered the AI until he’d grown more familiar with the suit’s basic functions, not only just a few days after receiving it! “Peter, I swear to god—“

“Is anyone else seeing this?” Clint asked, gesturing wildly between the two and looking around at the assembled team with wide incredulity. 

“I see it,” said Natasha. “It’s… disconcerting.”

“It’s amusing,” Loki countered.

Clint rolled his eyes. “Of course _you_ would think that. For everyone else, a miniature Tony Stark is cause for disaster.”

Loki’s grin widened. “Exactly.”

“Come on, guys,” said Steve. “Spider-Man, I believe you have some information for us.”

“Not just information,” Peter said. “I’m coming with, you’re not leaving me behind on this.”

“Son,” said Steve, and Tony just _knew_ that it was going to end badly. So he shifted to stand between the two.

“Cap,” said Tony, “Spidey’s young, but he’s proved himself so far.”

“This’ll be my third time up against these alien weapons,” Peter said proudly. Tony ignored him.

“With us taking the lead, he’ll be fine,” Tony finished.

“Cap, maybe you should let him,” said Bruce. “He’s clearly keen to help, why should we turn him away?”

“Because he might get himself killed,” Steve snapped, though Tony could tell he was starting to soften.

“Hey, um, Captain Rogers,” said Peter. “I think we can make a deal.”

Steve turned to Peter, an eyebrow raised. “Oh?” he asked. He was using that same tone he used when Tony tried to get out of eating real food, or when Tony tried to stay in the workshop for an extra hour (“ _Just five more minutes, Steve!”_ ), the tone that usually resulted in Steve bringing out the big guns (see: Loki) and ending up getting whatever it was he wanted. Peter, though, didn’t seem fazed.

“Yes,” Peter said firmly. “I think we can, because… well, I’m not the best student, these days. I’ve been in detention a lot, if you know what I’m saying.”

Tony frowned, unable to see the correlation between Peter’s behaviour in school and whether or not he should be allowed to fight. Steve, however, clearly could see the connection and paled immediately, the blood draining from his face with such speed Tony wondered if they should worry for his health.

“You wouldn’t,” Steve said, his voice almost choked.

“I understand that you probably never expected to run into a teenager who would use this against you, Cap,” Peter continued. “And usually, I wouldn’t, because you’re totally amazing. _But_ I will if you force me to.”

There was a minor stand off, Captain and masked teen staring, sizing each other up. Tony found that he couldn’t look away, and nor could he bring himself to break the silence that was quickly building in tension. Then—

“You wouldn’t,” Steve said again, his tone surer this time.

“Hey Mr Stark,” Peter said casually. “Have you ever seen the—“

“Stop!” Steve said, his jaw tight.

Peter crossed his arms. “Well?” he asked.

“Fine,” Steve snapped. “ _Fine_. But if you put any of the rest of the team in danger because of your own inexperience—“

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Peter said, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“What just happened?” Clint asked.

“I believe,” said Loki, his gaze bright and full of interest, “That Spider-Man just blackmailed your Captain.”

Tony wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “I’m so proud,” he simpered.

“Shut up,” Peter muttered half-heartedly, though he couldn’t contain his grin.

“I also want to know what you know,” Tony said firmly.

“Do _not_ ,” Steve ordered, a harsh finger pointed at Peter’s head. And the kid just _giggled_. God, Tony didn’t just want to know what had Peter so blasé about the Captain’s wrath, he _needed_ that information, like, yesterday. But he realised that now was probably not the best time.

“All right, so we’re one person up today, folks, Spider-Man is taking Thor’s place,” said Clint, causing Peter to almost begin to hyperventilate with pride.

“I’m taking _Thor’s_ place?” He squeaked.

“Only in the sense that he’s not currently here,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. “JARVIS can patch in to… Karen, was it?” he asked, and when Peter nodded with unnecessary enthusiasm, Tony continued. “You’ll be able to hear us, that way, and talk back.”

“Awesome,” said Peter. “So does this mean I’m a—“

“No,” Steve said immediately, still pouting.

“Not yet, anyway,” Tony added, shooting Peter a wink.

Peter grinned widely. “ _Awesome."_

“Guys, we’ve got to go,” Natasha cut in. “The ferry’s staring to loosen its lines.”

“How do we plan to get on?” Bruce asked, his eyes sliding to Loki again.

“No,” Loki said immediately. “Honestly, how did you morons manage before I—“

“Before you what?” Tony asked, starting to smirk. “Before you joined our team?”

“Before I rather unfortunately became invested in keeping you alive,” Loki retorted. “I won’t take you.”

“Good,” said Natasha. “We wouldn't want it to be too easy.”

“All right,” said Steve, finally locking into Captain mode. “Here’s the plan.”

Bruce managed to run onto the ferry as a passenger just as the gangway was being put away, and Peter jumped from the dock to hang on to the side of the boat, somehow managing to go unnoticed. Tony didn’t even see Clint and Natasha, though he figured they got on somehow, and Steve simply waltzed into the bridge and informed the captain that there were Avengers on the boat, and that everyone needed to stay calm but possibly be prepared for a little trouble. They’d been given the go from a quick call to the council over the phone, on the condition that relevant authorities be warned. So Steve told the captain and Tony had already informed the coast guard to be on standby, just in case. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to clear the boat of civilians, so they would have to be cautious.

Tony flew into the ferry through the back, hidden by a spell from Loki who had hitched a ride by finding a few handholds on the armour. They landed in the lower deck and hid amongst a few cars. Steve had theorised that any weaponry would probably be hidden in here, and Tony thought that he was probably right.

“Sense anything, J?” Tony asked.

“There’s something in a van, at the far end,” JARVIS said. “Scans indicate an energy signal similar to the Chitauri weaponry.”

“Got it,” Tony said. 

“This smells fishy to me,” Natasha said, her voice coming over the coms. According to Steve’s plan, she should be in the passenger deck along with Bruce, while Clint should have made his way to the very top deck, acting, as per usual, as their eyes in the sky.

“No kidding,” said Tony. “I’ve got a van here full of alien tech, and I’m picking up readings of more on the boat. This isn’t just a small trade.”

“Agreed,” said Bruce. “There’s one guy in here who looks like something from Men in Black, sunglasses and everything. If he was trying to go incognito, he’s failed.”

“The guy right behind you seems to be doing all right,” Natasha replied, and Bruce squeaked. Tony could almost picture it in his head, like a scene from a spy movie. Bruce would turn in slow motion, an expression of worried hope crossing his face. Then he would see the glint of a concealed gun, maybe, or the wire of an earpiece, and his eyes would widen. Then he would turn back around, expression horrified, and—

“Guys, I think I’ve been made,” Bruce said, his voice tense.

“No one says that,” Clint replied, forced cheer in his tone.

Then there was a faint shout from the deck above. “It’s the Avengers!”

“Yep, we’ve been spotted,” Tony muttered, and sure enough the sound of gunfire rattled the boat. “Show time, I guess.”

“Goddamn it, Bruce,” Clint exclaimed. “Five minutes in? Really?”

“I thought it was impressive,” said Peter, probably trying to stay on the science legend’s good side.

On the lower deck, Loki strode to the back of the boat, where it sounded like the most noise was coming from. When he reached the open stern his daggers fell into his hands from nowhere, and his leather shimmered into something a little more durable.

“I’m going to see what’s in the van,” Tony said. Loki spun to give Tony a mocking salute with one dagger, but the movement turned into a throw and then a guy fell from a deck above with a scream, the blade stuck in his thigh.

“ _Nice_ ,” said Clint. “But Loki, do try not to kill anyone.”

“Then what do you propose I do with them?” Loki responded, his gaze still on the upper levels, clearly seeing something Tony could not.

“I’ve got five in here,” Natasha said, her voice that whispery not-quite-breathless purr she seemed to adopt while fighting. “Bruce, stay low.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Bruce answered, though there was a tilt to his voice that told Tony he probably wouldn’t do as she asked.

“There’s three up top,” Steve reported.

“Four,” Clint corrected. Then– “Oh hey, look Cap, you’re right, there’s three now.”

“Two!” Peter added, and Tony grinned when he glanced up just in time to see someone fall off the side of the ferry, his eyes covered in webbing.

The van doors had been locked tight but the hinges had been easy enough to rip apart, and he’d found that the inside was full of the same modified weapons they’d seen at Peter’s bank robbery, only with far more variety. That couldn’t be it, surely. Tony thought he should probably do a bigger scan, see what else might be in one of the other vehicles—

“Stark!” Loki snapped, and Tony turned from the van, immediately blasting through the middle deck toward the stern. Loki was surrounded, his daggers raised as they all aimed their various weapons at him. Tony didn’t bother slowing down– he just ploughed into the lot of them, knocking down one half of the circle. The other half were left shocked, and Loki was able to jump and lash out with his feet, completing a roundhouse that honestly should not have been possible to manage without breaking several laws of physics.

“Couldn’t you just magic them all unconscious?” Tony asked.

“I do not wish to unsteady the vessel,” Loki replied. “To knock them out without causing damage elsewhere would use up more energy than hitting them physically. And as Agent Romanov said earlier–" Loki gave a feral grin. "It would be a shame to lose the fun of it."

A few of the goons who were knocked down managed to jump back to their feet, faces twisting into snarls and firing off a volley of various weapons. Loki easily threw up a shimmering green shield to catch the blasts, and then Tony raised his hands to respond with an attack of his own. After that, it deteriorated to hand to hand fighting, Tony blasting and punching while Loki danced with his daggers by his side.

Then there was a dull explosion from up above, and Clint cursed.

“They’re stronger than before,” Peter said, swinging down from an upper deck to land beside Tony.

“The stuff they took from the D.O.D.C. truck must have given them a boost,” Tony replied. “That’s okay, kid, you’ve got us now.”

“Iron Man, get high!” Clint ordered. “I need help clearing the upper deck.”

Tony glanced to Loki.

“Go,” the god snapped as he bent low to the ground and lashed out in a graceful arc, his blades slicing through the legs of three goons at once, sending them all to the ground to be caught in Peter’s webs and thrown overboard. “We have this.”

Tony threw himself into the air, Peter’s enthusiastic agreement ringing in his ears.

“Nat, you’ve got incoming,” Clint said.

“Yep, it's covered,” Natasha responded.

As Tony flew around the boat, he glanced in through the upper windows and was amused by the scene inside. Natasha was swinging around the area, redirecting attacks from what appeared to be electrical boxing gloves and something that looked unnervingly like it had been inspired by Vanko, only with shorter whips. Bruce was on the scene, but by no means had allowed himself to become useless– he’d helped gather the civilians in the front of the passenger area, and had placed himself between them and the fight. The goons seemed reluctant to go anywhere near Bruce - probably the smartest thought they’d had in their lives - so the civilians, for now, remained out of the crossfire.

Tony cut upward and blasted a few off the top deck that were threatening to overwhelm Clint, leaving the archer to free up the space around Steve on the starboard side. Once Steve was clear, he leapt down through a hatch, disappearing from Tony’s sight.

So Tony flew back around the ferry, circling and giving Clint support in taking out the guys who were crawling all over the place - and seriously, where the _hell_ had they all come from?

A splash of blue and red above the stern caught Tony’s attention– Cap, climbing back into the sunlight.

“Looks like they hid themselves in the bowels of this thing,” Steve said. “Either they were predicting trouble from whoever they were selling to, or we were expected.”

The image of large wings and a green tinged helmet assaulted Tony from his memory, and he turned his attention back high, sure that the guy who had dropped Peter from the sky a few days before was bound to turn up for the show. 

“Anyone need any help?” Steve asked.

“I’ve got the two in the passenger deck,” Natasha said over the coms. “Cap, you help the others below.”

Steve jumped down in one graceful bound and landed on the lower stern beside Loki, throwing his shield and taking out one of the few criminals that the god and the kid had yet to dispatch.

“Sir, the Vulture is approaching,” JARVIS said.

“We’re _not_ calling him that,” Tony muttered, and when he turned he saw that JARVIS was right. Metal wings with feathers that looked razor sharp and engines that were far larger than Tony would deem practical were carrying the man to the ferry from the general direction of Brooklyn.

Tony readied himself to intercept, and then—

“Incoming!” Clint shouted, and then a guy with a huge gun began charging his weapon, aiming down at the group on the stern from the overhanging roof, and Peter yelled.

“That’s one of the lasers they had at the bank!” he exclaimed, and Tony’s eyes widened, pausing his approach.

Tony was torn– wingman was at the bow, clearly directing the guys below. But down on the stern—

“Careful, Captain,” Loki said calmly. “That weapon can cut through most metals. Your shield should be fine, though, use it wisely.”

Steve prepared to duck behind the shield—

Then an arrow landed in the guy’s shoulder with a _thud_ and he was pushed forward with the force of it, sending him sprawling on the ground in front of Loki and Steve.

“Problem solved,” said Clint, before turning back to shoot toward the bow, where the guy with the huge ass wings was still hovering. “Go, Stark, I’ll hold this freak off.”

Despite his injury the guy on the floor of the stern still had his hands on the weapon and he reached for the trigger with his good arm. Tony finally landed beside Steve - as the only one fully armoured, he had the best chance - but someone else was quicker.

“No!” Steve yelled, but it was too late. Peter snatched the weapon in a web and threw it to the ground out of anyone's reach, but the thing was already overloading. Loki charged forward and pushed Peter out of the way just in time as the laser all but _exploded_ , cutting through metal and spinning around, slicing the ferry near exactly in half.

“What on Earth was _that_?” Bruce yelled, and Natasha was almost certainly muttering profanities but since it was all in Russian Tony couldn't entirely say for sure.

For a moment, all Tony could hear was the rushing of water. Then the ferry seemed to _groan_ and it split apart straight down the middle, the port and starboard halves beginning to tilt away from each other in the water, the gap widening rapidly.

The screams from the passenger deck above were piercing. 

"Oh my god," said Peter, "Oh my  _god—"_

"It's okay, kid, it wasn't your fault," Tony said. "It was going to happen regardless—"

“We’re going down,” Steve said, his voice scared. Tony didn’t blame him– he had his own problems with water, and while he was in his suit and therefore completely safe from drowning in this situation, he was immediately terrified for the fate of the others.

And then, like the absolutely fucking perfect being that he was—

“I’ve got it,” said Loki, his hands already beginning to glow with green power. He planted his feet as close to the gap in the middle of the boat as he could, the toes of his boots hanging over nothing but surging water. Then he raised his arms before bringing them back down hard, held in front of him with his elbows bent and his palms facing down. The ferry shuddered violently, and then, like something out of a dream– it stopped sinking and began to draw back together, pulling closer and closer until Loki was holding it in place with a gap of only a couple of feet between the two halves.

“Yeah! Go Loki!” Peter cheered, but the rest remained sombre.

“Even if we can find a way to patch this thing together, it’s taken on too much water to stay above the surface,” Steve told them all. “We need to get these people off, right _now_.”

“Coast guard are on their way, and I can see a few more boats heading over,” Clint said. “Loki, how long can you hold it?”

“Long enough,” Loki replied, his voice strained.

“Then let’s get to it!” Tony snapped. “JARVIS, get onto the airwaves, Channel 16, you know the drill– let those guys out there know what’s happening, tell them they’re up. The rest of us are on clean up duty. Honey?” Tony glanced back to Loki. “You stay right here, keep us all from drowning.”

Despite the obvious pressure, Loki found the energy to roll his eyes, probably thinking something along the lines of  _oh but darling, I fancied heading to Starbucks right this second_.

“I’m going back out onto the upper deck,” Steve said. “We’re clear here for now, but there has to be more of them.”

“Guys,” said Natasha cut in, her tone worried. “Bruce is looking a little tense.”

Tony’s immediately flew up to the next level to see Natasha hovering worriedly near Bruce. His clenched fists, gritted teeth and green tinged skin showed the truth of Natasha’s words, and the civilians were pressing themselves as far away from Bruce as they could, their faces terrified and their conversation frantic.

“Bruce, stay calm,” Tony said, alighting next to him and raising the faceplate.

“That’s not helping,” Bruce snarled back.

“Why don’t you come with me?” asked Natasha, putting a soft hand on his shoulder. “I’m about to start with the evacuation.”

Bruce growled again and shoved her hand away, his expression tight. “I shouldn’t be by the civilians,” he snapped.

“Yes, you should,” Tony replied. “I trust you.”

“It’s not me you need to worry about,” Bruce said.

Tony smiled. “I trust him, too.”

Bruce’s green eyes faded to brown as they locked on to Tony’s gaze. “You shouldn’t.”

“Bruce, there are injured people on this boat, they need you,” Natasha added.

Bruce still looked unconvinced, but he was in control.

“Whatever else is happening, the Vulture is still circling, Stark,” Clint said from above. “Get back out here.”

“I have to go,” Tony said, giving Bruce one last glance. “Just remember, if things really go south, we’ve always got VERONICA– but I’m sure we’re not going to need her.”

Bruce gave a short nod, and Tony smiled.

“On my way,” Tony told Clint, jumping off the back of the boat and soaring into the sky.

“Fucking finally,” Clint replied. “He’s got Cap in a stalemate.”

“Good job too, or you’d be getting chewed out for that language,” Tony replied. “And wow, there must really be something in here that they want. Surely they know they’re outmatched?”

The Vulture - goddamn it, the name was catching on - was at the bow, shooting at Steve while the Captain attempted to redirect the blasts with his shield. Tony caught the guy somewhat unawares with a double-handed repulsor blast, and the Vulture almost fell from the sky before he managed to right himself. It would seem that the wings were made with scavenged Chitauri plating, since the metal held up to the assault and the Vulture managed to catch himself.

“Iron Man,” the Vulture spat, his huge wings spread out and holding him steady. Tony really did wish Sam were there, rather than back at the Tower keeping an eye on Maximoff's daily training. Falcon’s wings were just so much _sleeker_ , and it would have been hilarious watching him fly rings around this guy.

Whatever. Tony would do it better, regardless.

“Vulture,” he returned. “Having fun with Cap I see? I can’t blame you, he can be entertaining.”

“Tony Stark,” Vulture said, this time with a hungry grin that was obvious even under the ugly mask he wore. Honestly, what he had managed to do with the alien tech was almost impressive but the steam-punk vibe it gave off was just tacky. “Are you here to finish the attempt you made at ruining my life?”

“Okay, are you serious right now?” Tony asked. Did the _whole world_ have something against him? “This was never my life.”

The Vulture, unfortunately, didn’t seem willing to swing into one of those villain monologues that were always so useful, so Tony didn’t get any insight on _how_ , exactly, he was supposed to have ruined the life of this particular guy. Instead he dodged a blast from the light weight energy canon that had been causing problems for Steve earlier and dove into the fray.

The Vulture’s wings were versatile but nowhere near as agile as Iron Man. Just like the Chitauri he had filched his tech from he couldn’t manage the tight turns, and he didn’t have anything close to Tony’s speed. His blasters were powerful but not a quick as the repulsors, and Tony had the guy on the ropes, flinching at every hit. His wings were holding up but after a few minutes of Tony's assault the Vulture was so focused on protecting his unarmoured body that his returned attacks soon ceased. He turned to run but Tony cut him off, easily trapping the Vulture between himself and where Clint was still perched atop the ferry, arrow nocked and ready. It would be a simple matter, really, to just grab the guy, disable the wings, and then—

“Mr Loki, watch out!” Peter exclaimed, and Tony’s attention was suddenly drawn back to the stern of the boat. It was the only opening the Vulture needed, and Tony was hit in the side and sent crashing into the lower deck of the ferry. Right in the _bow_. From there, Tony had a clear view of what was happening at the stern, but it was immediately clear that there was nothing he could do. He was half aware of the Vulture flying down near his prone form, but his focus was entirely at the other end of the boat.

Loki’s magic was still holding the ferry above the surface of the water, his expression strained. He was concentrating hard, and he didn’t notice the guy sneaking up behind him with another of those infernal guns until the weapon had already been fired. Tony watched with wide eyes, too far away to do anything to help as the laser that was capable of slicing through steel cut through the air a hairsbreadth from Loki’s head, blasting against the steel hull of the boat.

Peter had caught the weapon in a web at the last second and tugged it to the side, redirecting the blast.

“That was rude,” he told the man, and then used his web as leverage to get in a good kick to the side of the guy’s head, knocking him both hard against the side of the hull and firmly unconscious.

“Loki!” Tony exclaimed, flying in and landing beside the trickster, his gauntlets and helmet retracting even as he reached out. “Are you all right?”

“I am fine,” Loki said, though his teeth were still gritted together with the effort of holding the ferry in place.

“Evacuation’s almost done, boys,” Natasha said over the coms.

“Hold it just a while longer, Loki,” Bruce added. “We’ve got a couple more boats pulling in, and that will be enough.”

“Have we got them all?” Peter asked, bouncing over to stand beside Tony.

“Yeah, kid,” Tony said. “You got the last one. Nice job with that, by the way.”

“We didn’t get them _all_ ,” Clint snapped over the coms. “The Vulture got away.”

“Let’s collectively agree to blame this on Wilson,” Tony said immediately. “If I weren’t the only flier here—“

“Anthony,” Loki said through gritted teeth. “I do not care whose fault this is. Please get everyone _off_ this bloody boat!”

“Oookay guys, Loki’s cussing, it’s definitely time to go,” Tony said. “Widow, what’s it look like out there?”

“All the civilians are off,” Natasha replied. “The other boats have just pulled away.”

“So what do we do?” Peter asked. “Swim?”

“Not to worry, Mr Parker,” JARVIS replied, speaking from Tony’s suit. “The quinjet is on its way.”

“Thank you, JARVIS,” Loki said, his words oozing with tired gratefulness.

Despite his exhaustion, Loki promised that he had enough juice left for a short trip with his special brand of teleportation. Tony didn’t think he was lying but it wasn’t necessary for him to tire any more. So Tony waited with Loki while Peter swung up to the top deck to join the others. The moment Steve gave the all clear, Loki dropped his hands and sagged against Tony.

The ferry immediately began to groan and shudder, the chasm between the two halves yawning wider and wider at a rate that would have the boat under the water in seconds. Tony gripped Loki tightly and flew straight up through the rapidly growing gap, and entered into the quinjet through the open door. The moment they were inside the door closed firmly, and the jet was up and away.

Tony only had the chance to notice that Natasha was piloting while Bruce, Steve, and Peter were strapped into the seats lining the sides of the jet before he was being grabbed by an angry archer.

“You idiot,” Clint snapped, pushing Tony against the wall of the jet, suit and all. “You had him, and you let him go!”

“Get off me, Barton,” Tony snapped as he retracted the helmet. “It’s not like I meant to let him go, all right? He got away, that’s different.”

“He flew away when you were distracted by Loki,” Clint said, eyes flashing dangerously. “You should never have given him the opportunity!”

“You want me to just let Loki get hurt?” Tony asked incredulously.

“That’s not the point,” Clint growled, and although he did let Tony go he stayed in his space, his expression still frustrated. “You can’t just drop everything in the middle of a fight!”

“He’s right, Anthony,” said Loki. “I didn’t need your help, you should have stopped the Vulture—“

“Fuck that,” Tony snapped. “If you’re in trouble, I’m not just going to sit on my ass and—”

“He _wasn’t_ in trouble,” Clint countered. “He just said so!”

“Loki’s hardly a trustworthy source when it comes to whether or not he’s in danger!” Tony argued back.

“Maybe asking Loki to help wasn’t the greatest idea,” Clint said stiffly.

“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Bruce broke in. “Loki is an asset—“

“No,” Clint said. “Loki’s a liability.”

“He’s not,” said Peter, and then shrunk into his seat as everyone turned to look at him. “I mean… he saved me. So. Thanks, Mr Loki.”

Loki inclined his head. “Thank _you_ , for what you did,” he said, and Peter wasn’t the only one shocked.

“Loki saved those civilians today,” Steve said firmly. “Or did you have a better way to stop the boat from sinking long enough to get them to safety?”

 "It's not any of that which concerns me," Clint replied. “You can’t deny that he’s distracting Stark.”

“He’s not distracting me,” Tony replied firmly. “I would have done the same for any of you guys!”

“Oh?” Clint asked. “So where were you when Cap was about to be overrun?”

“You had that, Clint, there was no need for me to—“

“Exactly,” Clint cut in. “You knew I was picking them off so you left me to it. Spider-Man had the situation under control, you should have trusted him to do the job! Was it because he’s a kid that you didn’t?”

Tony saw Peter flinch, but his answer would have been the same regardless.

" _No_ ,” he snapped.

“So it _is_ because it was Loki, then,” Clint said, the stubborn finality in his voice painfully clear.

“Barton,” said Loki, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “I know you know what I am capable of, you more than most. Do _not_ make the mistake of thinking that I am some damsel waiting to be rescued.”

“I know you aren’t,” Clint stressed. “That’s what I’m trying to drill into Tony’s thick skull!”

“As if I don’t know what he’s capable of,” Tony snorted. “Loki’s a badass.”

That, of course, just served to make Clint’s glare worsen, though Loki smiled, taking the compliment for what it was.

“Is it just me,” Peter leaned in to whisper to Bruce, “Or are they all arguing for exactly the same point?”

“They’re not great at listening to other people, kid,” Natasha said, and Peter's shoulder's haunched slightly at the realisation that if she could hear him from the pilot’s seat, then so could all the others. The mask may have hidden the blush, but it was still as clear as day.

“We’re all getting used to having Loki work with us,” Steve said, taking the opportunity to duck in as a mediator. “For some of us, that takes different forms than others.” Steve looked to Tony. “You need to make sure that you can cope with having someone you care about on the field with you. It’s something that I had to learn back in the war, and I know that it’s hard. But we can’t afford for it to become a problem.”

“I won’t promise not to help if he needs it,” Tony said.

“Of course not,” said Steve. “But you also need to trust both him, and the rest of us to do our jobs."

“I do,” Tony said, glancing first around at his team and then resting his gaze on Loki. “I do trust you.”

Loki smiled. “Good,” he said. “If you did not by now I’m afraid I would have had to punish you for it.”

Tony’s wicked grin had Steve hurriedly moving along.

“As for everyone else– we’ve worked with Loki before, and we know he’s on our side now. We just need to come to terms with working together properly, rather than on the fly.”

“It’s not Loki I had a problem with,” Clint said again, his eyes flicking to the god. “If Stark says he can do better, I’m willing to let him prove it.”

Tony nodded. “All right, Barton.”

“Good,” said Steve. “Because I don’t want any tension between any of us, and Loki?”

He eyed off everyone, his blue gaze moving over Tony and Loki, past Peter, and coming to rest on Clint.

“Loki’s part of this team,” Steve finished.

Clint nodded. That, at least, seemed to be something he was unable to disagree with.

“Captain, while I appreciate the sentiment,” Loki started, “I have never agreed to—“

“Nuh uh, Reindeer Games,” Tony cut in. “You’re in, now. You will never be able to escape us.”

Loki gave an overly exaggerated sigh and sat down beside Peter, throwing his head back against the wall like a drama queen. Clint smiled in spite of himself and retreated to take his own seat by Steve.

“Now that you boys have your spat all cleared up, we’re almost at the tower,” Natasha called back from her seat at the front of the jet. “Movie night to celebrate another victory? It’s my turn to pick.”

“It’s Thor’s turn,” Steve reminded her.

“Is Thor here?” Natasha asked, her tone light and airy in that creepy way that reminded them all of exactly what she could do to them if they disagreed with her. “No. And I put in my claim first.”

"Do not forget that I was promised chocolate ice-cream in exchange for my services," Loki said firmly. 

“Can I come?” Peter asked brightly. "Sounds fun."

“No way, kid,” Tony snapped over Clint’s snickers. “It’s a school night.”

And in a perfect world, that might have been the last of it. But unfortunately, nothing good ever comes of leaving loose ends to dangle free.

—•—

‘ _I have the kid, Stark. If you do not wish to see his skinny neck strung up by his own webbing from that obnoxious letter A, you’ll do exactly as I tell you.’_


	4. Fourth Try's the Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“We'll find him,” Loki said, his tone firm. “Even if we have to tear the city apart, we will find him.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I _know_ I've done it again, you guys don't need to call me out on it. Honestly, why do I even pretend that I'm capable of following any kind of plan, ohmygod  
>  (In other words, yes, there's going to be another chapter.)

Tony stared at the phone in his hand, the device almost cracking as his fingers tightened with rage. His teeth were clenched so harshly together that he had begun to get a headache, and it was becoming difficult to breathe past the tightness in his chest. All he could see was that one bubble of text on the screen, the words that danced across his gaze stamped down any pleasantry that had occupied the previous moments.

 _I have the kid, Stark_.

It was like a knife to his chest, twisting and ripping and tearing out something precious. He hadn’t known the kid long, in relative terms, but Peter was something special. And now—

_If you do not wish to see his skinny neck strung up by his own webbing_

There had been no name on the message, nothing to determine who had sent it. But it was sent from Peter’s phone, so really, it didn’t make a flying fuck of a difference. Whoever they were– they would be dead, soon.

It had been a couple weeks since the fight on the ferry. All of the criminals had been rounded up and taken by the FBI, who had managed to get all the information they needed to lead the D.O.D.C. to the home base of the modified alien weapons trade. But they didn’t find any trace of the Vulture, and they had concluded that the guy had cut and run.

Tony hadn’t thought so, but he also hadn’t tried as hard as he probably should have to hunt the guy down. He should have known better, but he was too excited to be done with the reminder of the Chitauri and Thanos, too eager to set it all aside and just enjoy the peace he had come to love in recent weeks, and too sure that the FBI would be able to handle one guy in a cheap Falcon cosplay. 

Peter was going to his homecoming dance. He had managed to secure a date with the Liz girl - god knows how, though Tony was _sure_ his advice had everything to do with it - and he had been equal parts excited and nervous, just as any kid should be. Tony had called a rather amused May and demanded that he be sent photos (for future blackmail, obviously) and had giggled at the sight of Peter all spruced up, wearing his first proper suit and with his ridiculously floppy hair combed into an arrangement that was almost neat.

It was supposed to be, it _had been_ a good moment. It should have been a proper moment in Peter’s life, a happy memory to preserve. But then Tony had received that horrible message in the middle of movie night with Loki, and everything had just gone down the drain.

“Anthony? What is it?”

Cool fingers curled around Tony’s and pried the phone out of his grip, snapping him from his tunnelled vision and anchoring him back into the here and now.

“Who sent this?” Loki asked, frowning down at the phone.

“It doesn’t matter,” Tony said, echoing his earlier thoughts. “But I have a pretty good idea.”

When Loki looked back up, his eyes were blazing. “Where is he?”

Tony didn’t break his gaze. “JARVIS?”

“Sir, you know that Mr Parker has disabled his tracking device, and since you have yet to replace it—“

“What about Karen?” Loki asked, and Tony remembered Peter mentioning that he’d given his AI that name. “Can you contact her?”

There was a telling pause. Because of course, Peter had been at his homecoming dance. His Spidey suit was no doubt tucked snugly in the ceiling of his bedroom, far away from wherever he had been taken.

“JARVIS,” Tony snapped. “Give me _something_.”

“His phone is still online,” JARVIS said. “I can feel that, but I can’t pinpoint the location. There is some kind of interference, and without a stronger connection there is nothing I can do.“

Tony finally tore his gaze from Loki’s and strode to his nearest computer, but it only confirmed JARVIS’ words.

“ _Dammit_ ,” Tony near cried with frustration, his hands pulling at his hair. The pain almost made things better, made it feel like he was doing something, because if he didn’t even have a place to start looking he could at least punish himself for allowing it to happen.

Helplessness. Tony _hated_ it.

And _god,_ he was going to have to call May, he was going to have to explain that the kid had been kidnapped because of something Tony had done in the past, because of one fuck up amongst so many he was still unsure of which it was.

“You need to calm down,” said Loki, putting the phone on the coffee table beside him and placing a soothing hand against the side of Tony’s face.

“That’s not helping,” Tony said. “Loki, just—“

“If you work yourself up you will not think clearly,” Loki continued. “Thor always used to do this. He would get angry, and act rashly, and it would be up to me to rescue him—“

“I’m not Thor,” Tony muttered. “And yeah, I guess it’s terrible that this is so inconveniencing to you—“

“This is _not_ doing Peter any good,” Loki said firmly, his hand sliding down to hold Tony’s shoulder. “You cannot help him if you cannot use your logic.”

“Why do you even care?” Tony snapped, pulling away. He stood from the couch and started to pace. “You don’t even– he’s a _mortal_ , right? Why do you care?”

There was a long moment before Loki responded.

“I don’t know why I care about him,” Loki said, “But I do know why I can’t stand to see you this way. The child means a lot to you, and I am going to help you find him _._ ”

Tony flinched back, his own words echoing sharply through his mind. Loki’s eyes were pained, and Tony wanted to reach for him, but he half worried it wouldn’t be welcome. He hadn’t meant to snap.

“You’re a good man, Loki,” he said, giving him a watery smile.

“No,” Loki responded. “I am selfish, I know that. I care little for the fleeting lives of mortals.” A frown marred his face. “At least… I used to. I _have_ come to be fond of the child over past weeks.”

“Loki,” Tony said again, horrified that his words had made Loki believe that he thought him _selfish_. “You _are_ good, all right? You’re—“

“There’s no need for such sentiments, I know that your ire is not for me,” Loki added, speaking a little more sharply than before. “Remember that I am only trying to help.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony said brokenly. “I didn’t mean it.”

“We'll find him,” Loki said, his tone firm. “Even if we have to tear the city apart, we _will_ find him.”

Loki had hard earned the title of Silvertongue– no one could ever deny that he has a way with words. His eyes were blazing with determination as he held Tony’s gaze, and Tony wanted nothing more than to believe it with all his heart. But Loki knew how much Peter meant to him, and he would try to make it easier, try to dull the pain.

 _Liesmith_.

Tony averted his eyes, glancing down to the ground. It was an awful thought, but it bled in at the edges and darkened his already anguished speculation.

The possibility that Loki might be wrong was something that he couldn’t help but consider, and that  _hurt_. 

Then, Tony’s phone rang.

Loki held it up, his eyes solemn. “It says Peter.”

Tony crossed the space between them in two quick strides to take the device, pressing the green icon and putting it on speaker without a thought.

“Peter?” he asked.

“Decidedly not.” The voice that answered was low and gruff, and seemed to be distorted by some kind of modulator. Tony damn near cursed– that was another thing he couldn’t use to get an ID.

“Then who?” Tony asked. “What sort of a coward are you, to hide behind modulators and messages—“

“I am a survivor, Tony Stark, I know how to keep myself alive,” the kidnapper replied. “Something that young Mr Parker will not be for much longer if you do not do as I wish.”

“If you’ve hurt him,” Tony said, his voice low. “If I find him with a single scratch—“

“You’ll do what?” the kidnapper asked. “There is nothing that you can do, and if you step out of line– I will leave far worse than a _scratch_.”

Tony ground his teeth, unable to formulate a reply. He glanced to Loki, but there was nothing helpful there other than a glare and a snarl and a struggle to keep from exploding the phone in fury.

There was nothing that they _could_ say. After all– the kidnapper was right.

“Are you ready to listen, now?”

“No,” Tony said. “I want—“ he almost choked on the words as they caught in his throat, but he managed to get them out. “I want proof of life.”

There was no response from the kidnapper other than a small shuffle on the other end of the line, and then—

“Mr Stark!”

Tony felt all the breath in his chest expel in a relieved sigh, having previously been unaware that he was holding it.

“You’re all right, kid?” Tony asked, making sure his words were calm and free of worry.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Peter said hurriedly. “But listen, Mr Stark– it’s Liz’s dad, he’s the—“

Peter’s voice was cut off with a harsh _thunk_ and the soft sound of a body hitting concrete, and Tony felt something inside him _snap_.

“I do not think you understand who you have crossed,” Loki snarled, speaking up for the first time.

“Ah, the alien,” the Vulture– for it was the Vulture, Tony was sure of it now, and JARVIS was already running searches on Liz Allan's father. “How… quaint. It would seem that Peter really isn’t the upstanding young man I had thought he was, if he’s keeping company with such rabble.”

“How dare you think to harm him,” Loki growled, his lips twisting as he bared his teeth at the unseen foe. “How dare—“

“What will you do?” the Vulture taunted. “For all that you claim to be a god you can’t find me, because if you could you would already be here.”

Loki was gnashing his teeth, his eyes pinched. Tony knew he hated feeling helpless above all, perhaps even more so than Tony himself, because Loki was so used to being the one who held all the cards. To be thrown into the dark so suddenly was a horrible and jolting experience, and it was not a feeling that Tony was willing to allow himself to get lost in, not now, not when Peter’s life was potentially on the line.

That was okay though, because Tony was practiced at dealing with dangerous situations that extended beyond his control. And he had moved beyond angry– Tony was livid, so full of rage that instead of yelling, instead of cursing and screaming and threatening, he smiled the way that his father had taught him and spoke in a calm and pleasant voice.

“Mr Toomes,” he said, giving the end of the name that lifting tilt that sounded like it might be designed to calm, but only ever served to put people on edge. “I understand that I have done something in the past that has displeased you, but I implore that you do not take it out on the kid.”

“Displeased?” Toomes asked, his laugh bitter. “It goes beyond that, Stark. You ruined my life.”

“Well, if you’re upset about that I’m afraid you’ll have to join a rather long line,” Tony said.

“Not just that. The kid has been a thorn in my side, I’m not giving him up for nothing.”

“What _do_ you want, then?” Tony asked. “What will it take for you to give him back?”

“What I want is simple,” Toomes replied. “It is nothing more than what any _hard working_ man deserves.”

“And what’s that?” Tony was still outwardly calm, still dangerously unruffled.

“Security.” The word was spat out with all the sharpness of a freshly blooded scalpel. “I want what you took from me when you destroyed my livelihood.”

“You want money,” Tony summarised. “How much?”

“However much you think this useless kid is worth,” Toomes replied. “Get back to me when you’ve collected enough cash, and I’ll give you a location to leave it at.”

“How long do I have?”

“This time, Stark,” Toomes said, his voice amused under the now unnecessary modulator, “that depends on how much _I_ think he’s worth.”

The call disconnected. Tony looked up from the dark screen to meet Loki’s burning gaze, his own rage fuelling brand new determination. It was like hearing Peter’s voice had flicked a switch and all of a sudden, there was no more room for doubt.

_you’ll do exactly as I tell you._

The thing is… Tony never had been a fan of doing as he was told.

—•—

“JARVIS?”

“Location triangulated, Sir. Sending coordinates to the Mark XLVII.”

—•—

They were too late. They were _seconds_ too late– some of the pieces of rubble were still shifting against themselves, granules of concrete still rolling down the broken, slanted walls, the air still thick with dust.

JARVIS immediately began scanning for life signs but Tony knew he wouldn’t find any. Save for the clattering of still shifting debris and the distant echo of sirens, the whole place was eerily silent.

Tony stared in shock. All that rubble, in such a small time... It had been minutes, _minutes_ since Tony had spoken to Toomes. How could the Vulture have known that Tony and Loki were on their way? How—

He couldn’t have, which meant that he’d never intended to wait in the first place.

Reality set in with a painful crash. Peter had never been the endgame, and Toomes had never wanted the money. Why would he? He was a survivor by his own admission, he didn’t need to extort from billionaires. He could sort that out himself.

Toomes had asked for Peter’s worth in Tony’s eyes, but he’d already known the answer, and he had used that to his advantage.

JARVIS still hadn’t detected any life signs.

Loki, though, wasn’t about to let JARVIS’ scanners tell him whether or not to hope, and he moved forward past Tony to stand over the rubble, eyes and hands glinting with a spell. 

Tony could hardly move, frozen as he was with his gaze caught on the dust in the air, reflecting in the dim glow of the streetlights.

“Anthony,” Loki said, the softness with which he spoke sending immediate warning bells ringing through Tony’s mind. But he forced his heavy limbs into motion anyway, heading into the debris. How could he not?

Loki held up a scrap of material, a piece of jagged silk that Tony had never seen outside of a picture, but which he would have recognised anywhere. His heart in his throat, Tony reached out wordlessly, his gauntlet retracting.

“This only means that he was here,” Loki said, pressing the remnants of Peter’s tie into the palm of Tony’s hand. “It does _not_ mean that he still is.”

Tony didn’t want to hope, not when he was sure it would be crushed. However—

He hadn’t known the kid for long, but in that time he’d learned enough to understand one thing.

“Peter’s good at crawling through cracks, surviving what he shouldn’t,” Tony muttered. “Maybe…”

“There is no body here,” Loki said firmly. “Not alive, but not dead, either. Peter’s not here, Anthony, and nor is the Vulture. I would guess that the child escaped and is even now following him. JARVIS, do another scan.”

“I already tried every possibility of tracking Mr Parker,” JARVIS replied. "The only thing that worked was the trace on the phone—"

“So try it again,” Loki snapped.

“Loki’s right, J,” Tony said, his voice steady. He kicked a bit of the rubble, and pointed out something he’d noticed earlier. “These walls had lead in them, Toomes must have taken Pete outside to make the call. That must have been what was interfering. And with Pete out and about again—“

“I have already traced it, Sir, I was trying to tell you,” JARVIS replied. “Mr Parker’s phone is six yards to your right.”

Loki moved to retrieve it, but Tony once again stayed still, thinking hard.

“There has to be something,” he muttered. “There has to be– maybe someone else has seen him, maybe they’ve mentioned online, or posted a picture on twitter, surely someone noticed the Vulture, he's not exactly inconspicuous… Or maybe we can run a scan for a Chitauri energy signature, that might give us a chance to get to Toomes, at least. But if there’s anything else out there of his stock…”

Okay, Tony needed to _think_. What was it Toomes was after? His illegal weapons trade had been unearthed but there was surely still a market out there for it, if he could get his hands on some more. Where, then?

“Sir!” JARVIS spoke up rapidly, loud enough for Loki to hear as well. “I took your suggestion and searched using new parameters—“

“JARVIS!” Loki snapped, the battered phone disappearing from his hand into nothing as he strode back to Tony. “What is it?”

“I’ve found Mr Parker,” JARVIS finished.

Loki’s eyes widened, and he immediately gripped Tony’s arm, already gathering his magic, preparing to _move._

“Where?” Tony demanded, his helmet snapping back over his head.

When JARVIS displayed the information on the HUD, Tony swore.

“We need to go," he said. " _Now._ ”

—•—

Peter was falling, _again_ , and it was only through incredibly lucky timing, a torn but still half-full parachute, and Loki’s magic that he didn’t end up as a well-dressed smear across southern New Jersey.

Loki landed them on the side of a road some two hundred feet below where they’d plucked Peter out of the air, and it was only due to both Loki and Tony’s hands on his shoulders that Peter managed to stay upright, his knees buckling as his feet hit solid ground. As soon as he was had stable footing, though, he pulled away. Tony let him go, recognising the desire to stand independent after a difficult ordeal.

JARVIS opened the suit and Tony was released into the cool air. Peter was trembling but he pulled his arms around himself and looked up at them, his eyes wide and slightly unfocused, probably a result of the injury Tony could see shining red just above Peter’s left temple.

“Mr Stark?” Peter asked weakly. “Loki?”

“Hey, kid,” Tony said, his voice entirely level now, his stress melting away into unrestrained relief. Peter was clearly shaken, he was dusty and bloody and bruised, but he was _alive_ , and it was that incredible fact which allowed Tony to say– “Guess you must be some kind of rebellious angel, huh? What with the number of times you’ve fallen from the sky.”

Tony took the fact that Peter managed to muster up a small glare as evidence that he was at least _okay_ , and he felt a smile stretch his lips.

“Thanks,” Peter said, his arms pulling even tighter across his chest, his fingers twisting in his destroyed jacket, his hands still shaking. “For saving me again.” His eyes flickered from Tony to the god beside him, and Loki nodded in response.

Loki reached out once more, moving slowly so that Peter could easily watch his approach. Then he paused.

“Would it be all right if I healed you?” Loki asked. Peter nodded hesitantly, and Loki did so with little more than a soft touch. He’d always claimed that healing magic was not his forte, but he did well with small bumps, cuts, and burns– a necessity when spending time with someone as reckless as Thor, apparently.

“ _Thank you_ ,” Peter said again, the words slipping out as little more than an exhale as he touched his head with his fingertips. The congealing blood remained, but the injury was clearly gone.

“What happened?” Loki asked, the words soft despite the clear focus in his eyes. “What did he want?”

“Hey, give him a minute,” Tony cut in, but Peter ignored him and kept his gaze on Loki– not quite meeting his eyes, but staring at a point just below.

“He– he wasn’t after me,” Peter said.

“We know,” Tony replied, thinking back to what he had realised at the destroyed building. “It’s all right, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“No, listen.” Peter was starting to work himself up, his fingers pulling at the material of his jacket so frantically that the material was tearing even more than it already had. “He’s on his way to D.C., he decided that if he could distract you with me it would be a good opportunity—“

“Peter,” Tony said again, but the kid wasn’t done.

“Toomes is going to attack,” Peter said, his teeth chattering together, though from cold or stress Tony couldn’t tell. “Toomes, he– he’s going after the D.O.D.C., he’s going to try and, he’s going to—“

“Whoa, whoa,” said Tony. “Calm down, kid.” He reached out, and clapped an awkward hand to Peter’s shoulder. He didn’t know– he hoped that it was comforting. The contact. He didn’t know what else to do.

“Mr Stark?” Peter’s eyes were wide. The harsh pallor of his skin combined with the sheen of sweat across his forehead and the red splashed over his temple made him appear impossibly young. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, there’s no need for that,” Tony insisted, sharing a helpless glance with Loki over Peter’s head. “Hey, none of this is on you. That guy is a lunatic, there’s no need—“

“I should have known,” Peter responded, “I recognised him, and I panicked, and I should have done a better job of pretending to just be _normal_ but I suck at acting and I can’t keep a secret and—“

“Peter,” Loki broke in, and the kid’s gaze snapped to the side. Loki didn’t say anything else, merely pierced the kid with his sharp, green gaze and a stern pinch to his lips, but it seemed to the do the trick. Peter shuddered hard, his eyes falling closed for a moment before he turned back to Tony.

“He needs to be stopped,” he said, and despite the fear in his voice his resolve was fierce.

“Yeah, kid, he does,” Tony soothed. “But all in good time.”

“No, you don’t get it,” Peter groaned. “We don’t _have_ time. He’s got Loki’s staff, the one from New York. I saw it on the news and it’s different, it’s… broken, I think, but he stole it from a D.O.D.C. truck or something outside of D.C., he said. He’s going to use it frame you.” Peter’s gaze flickered between them. “ _Both_ of you.”

“He knows he can’t hurt me, so he’s going after me through _you_ ,” Tony said, his eyes widening in realisation as his gaze turned to Loki. “He’s going to make the world hate you again.”

“He wants the Avengers to tear you apart,” Peter finished. “He knows that’ll hurt you more than anything, and getting rid of me was supposed to push you over the edge and make you unreasonable.”

“Okay,” said Tony. He glanced to Loki and the god nodded firmly, not needing words to understand the request. “You’ve done enough, kid,” Tony continued. “Let us handle things from here.”

“No,” Peter snapped. “We need to stop him _—“_

“Yes,” Tony agreed. “ _We_ will. You, however, need to go home for a hot chocolate and a nap.”

“I’m not five,” Peter said sharply. “And I want to help.”

“You’re hurt,” Tony said, still quite unable to stop glancing at the smear of blood visible under the kid’s fringe, even though he knew the wound underneath was healed. He took Loki’s hand, knowing that JARVIS would give him the location. “And you’re exhausted. You’ve had a hard couple hours, Pete, just hang tight. We won’t let him take anything, don’t worry.”

Peter immediately started complaining again, but Loki reached out with his other hand and Tony sighed as he felt that familiar crackle of Loki’s magic over his skin. Peter wouldn’t have a choice– Loki would be able to drop him off out of harms way, and then they would take out Toomes before Peter even had the time to take off his suit.

In moments they were on the side of another road in a completely different state, about a mile out from the D.O.D.C. That was good, there was no way the Vulture had made it the rest of the way yet with his clunky wings, they’d easily be able to cut him off.

Except—

“Goddamn it, Loki,” Tony groaned. “I thought you were going to take him back.”

Loki smirked and let go of both their hands. “I think you’re underestimating him,” he said.

“Thanks,” said Peter, tilting his head and not quite managing to keep the smile from tugging at the corner of his lips. “I _think_.”

“Okay,” said Tony, pointing a finger. “But _you_ are staying on the ground.”

“That’s not going to be a problem,” Peter said. He spread his arms, gesturing to the tattered suit. “I can’t actually fly, and I've run out of webbing. It's not like I packed a spare.”

“Yeah, and since we’re all here, I’m still going to need an explanation on that,” Tony groaned.

Peter frowned.

“He is confused as to why you were falling when you were _supposed_ to be at a dance,” Loki supplied. “I, however, am perfectly capable of understanding that you were surprised by the fact that your dance partner's father was the Vulture, he took you– probably before your Liz even realised you had arrived at her house. I’m assuming he used her near presence to force you not to resist?” Loki powered on, not waiting for an answer and simply assuming that he was correct. “You reacted negatively to being hit over the head and the building was destroyed in the fight, after which you used the web-shooters you’re never without and his distraction to catch a ride, but he realised you were there and threw you off. And now, here we are.”

Tony looked to Peter.

“She’s not _my_ Liz,” Peter mumbled, his near-grey complexion regaining a little colour as he blushed, though he didn’t deny any of it. “Oh, god. She’s going to think I stood her up.”

“Sorry, Peter,” said Loki, his eyes flashing bright green. “But I think she’s going to have bigger problems than you after tonight.”

“He says he’s doing it all for her,” Peter said sadly. “She’s not going to take it well.”

“No,” Tony said. “I imagine she won’t.”

“How did you find me, anyway?” Peter asked. “Toomes took my phone, and I don’t have the suit—“

“JARVIS,” Tony said.

“Satellites,” JARVIS replied. “Mr Stark wondered if you had been caught on camera, and that maybe a person had posted a picture of a giant metal bird on social media. So I accessed the Pentagon’s satellites, and I found one that had a view of the area. I saw you begin to fall, Mr Parker.”

“I love how you equate Instagram pics and Snapchat with creepy stalker satellites,” Peter said seriously. "I guess that makes sense, for an AI."

“Aw J, you hacked the Pentagon again?” Tony whined. “I need to get me some better satellites. That's just embarrassing."

“On that note, incoming,” JARVIS warned them, and they all immediately looked up to the sky.

The Vulture had done a decent job of silencing his engines, but he was still a huge target, and Tony was able to pinpoint his exact location in moments. He was coming in fast from the northeast, and Tony wondered if he would be tired from the long haul flight. He was clearly acting recklessly– while the Vulture no doubt had the means to break into the D.O.D.C., he wasn’t going to do so and come out of it unscathed. But he must have believed the Avengers to be on his tail - delusions of grandeur, perhaps - and had reacted rashly, feeling the need to make a power move. He might have even got away with it had he not kidnapped Peter, thereby _alerting_ Tony to his actions, rather than creating a distraction. But then, Peter had said that Toomes was acting out of a desire to make a better life for his daughter.

Tony, of course, had little personal experience of the phenomenon - Howard hadn’t exactly been concerned whenever Tony had been kidnapped, and he’d always managed to get out of it himself - but most people say that a parent will do anything to protect their kid. Maybe Toomes was on his last legs, blinded by love for his child and truly desperate to reclaim what he could from his sinking ship, and perhaps get a little revenge on the side. 

None of that mattered, though. Tony didn’t care about the guy’s motive, or the stupidity of his plan.

Toomes had hurt Peter, and that was all Tony needed to know. 

The encounter could hardly be called a fight. Tony jumped into the air and met Loki on the fly, the two of them connecting with the Vulture in a shower of sparks. Peter had been right about the sceptre but it was cold and dead and useless in Toomes' hands, the Mind Stone long since gone. Loki shattered it with a gleeful flick of his fingers, and after that the whole thing was over in minutes. The Vulture went down in a blaze of green and the crackling whirr of repulsors, the scavenged, comparatively low-tech wings giving way easily to Tony’s genius and Loki’s unchecked power. Afterward, Tony took great joy in leaning over the Vulture as he lay on the ground, pinned down under Tony’s hand with his wings spread wide, metal twisted and mangled.

“You’re never going to touch Peter again,” Tony snarled, retracting his helmet so he could look Toomes in the eye.

“I know who he is,” Toomes said, grinning past bloody teeth, his mask in pieces on the ground. “You’re in no position to bargain.”

“Oh,” Tony said, baring his own teeth and charging the repulsor that was pressed flush against the rapid beating of Toomes' heart. “I rather think that I am.”

Tony felt warmth at his back and saw a reflection of green in Toomes’ eyes, and he knew that Loki would support him in this. He could almost feel the rage pouring from behind him in waves, knew that Loki would gladly tear this man limb from limb with his bare hands, but he was allowing Tony the absolute fucking _honour._

“One move and I’ll say it, it’ll be spread all over the media,” Toomes continued, his gaze straying over Tony’s shoulder. “You let me and my family live in peace, you tell no one who I am and you keep the authorities away from me and my business, and I’ll never tell a soul.”

“Alternatively,” Tony said, his repulsor growing hot enough that the leather underneath it was beginning to singe, “I could just make sure that you’ll never speak again.”

“You won’t,” Toomes replied, his muscles strained as he tried to pull away, but his broken wings and the weight of Tony’s suit held him firm. “You’re an Avenger.”

“And you hurt Peter,” Tony snarled.

“They’ll kick you off the team,” Toomes said harshly, “Captain America won’t—“

“They will never find out,” Loki said menacingly. “No one will know what happened to you, not even your family.” Tony felt Loki shift, and Toomes flinched. “At least your daughter will never know what you are. Take solace from that.”

Toomes’ eyes hardened, unaccepting of what was about to happen. Maybe he truly believed that Tony wouldn’t do it, deluded by the illusion of the ‘hero’ name-tag the Avengers had stuck to Tony’s chest and completely forgetting about the hundreds, the thousands of deaths that hovered behind Tony’s years as a weapons manufacturer, and the added faces he had killed since. Maybe Toomes saw the red and gold, the accolades and the shining, _obnoxious_ letter A, and naively believed the image that even Tony liked to pretend was the truth. Or maybe he was simply trying to be optimistic.

Had Tony been a kinder man, he might have actually pitied the guy.

“You deserve worse than this,” Tony said instead, pulling his hand back slightly so that Toomes could see the hot white glow of power that would put an end to his sorry existence. A glimmer of fear entered Toomes’ eyes, and Tony finally moved to take the final strike.

“No.”

Peter’s voice was soft and nearly inaudible, but Tony paused immediately nonetheless. He didn’t turn to look, having seen far too many action movies and episodes of _Game of Thrones_ to take his eyes off Toomes for even a second, but he heard Peter’s soft footsteps as he put himself into Tony’s line of sight.

They had crashed through the trees and to the ground only a few hundred yards from where Tony and Loki had left Peter, and the kid had clearly crossed the distance as quickly as he could. His face was once again a worrying grey pallor and his forehead was beaded with sweat, but his gaze burned fiercely as he stared down at Tony.

“You can’t do this,” Peter said.

And, well, of course Tony couldn’t do it _now_.

“Go away, kid,” Tony snapped. “You don’t need to watch this.”

“ _This_ isn’t going to happen,” Peter replied. "This is exactly what he wants!"

"I don't think it is," Tony replied, but then he remembered Peter's warning about Toomes' plan to tear him away from his team, and Toomes' earlier words about Steve. 

“That doesn't matter, then," Peter said. "But what has he done to deserve this?"

“Do you even need to ask that?”

“Then shouldn’t _I_ get a say in what happens?” Peter asked. 

“He knows who you are, Peter,” Loki broke in, and huh, Tony hadn’t even thought of that. “Think of every reason you wanted to keep your identity a secret, and then tell me again why we should let this guy go.”

“I’m not saying we should let him go,” Peter said. “I’m saying that we should send him to prison. He’s a criminal, so shouldn’t we let the justice system decide? Isn’t that what the Accords were about?”

Tony blinked. “How do you know about that?” he asked, not wanting to face the logical argument.

Peter shrugged. “We learned about it in school,” he said.

Tony looked up at this kid, beaten and bloodied and asking for mercy for the man who was responsible for his injuries. It was some Steve Rogers level of chivalry – worse, even, since Tony _knew_ what Steve had done to HYDRA after he’d thought Bucky was dead – and it was hard to believe that Peter was even real. But there he was, and he was pleading with Tony with those big brown eyes shining with so much hope it was almost gross. 

And, well. Peter was also  _right_.

How messed up was it that the kid was acting as the role model in such a situation?

Tony didn’t say a word, but he did pull his weight off Toomes and allow the man to sit up. Toomes let out a huff of relief when Tony closed his hand, curling his fingers over the rapidly dimming repulsor. The huff just rubbed at Tony the wrong way, so he put that newly formed fist to good use.

If he couldn’t have the bastard’s assured silence, a few more teeth would have to suffice.

Peter shot Tony a glare that lasted only a moment before he shrugged, clearly taking the minor injury over what Tony had planned to do. Then he stepped forward and took Tony’s place standing over the man on the ground.

“I just saved your life,” Peter said. “If you _ever_ tell anyone about me—“

“I won’t,” Toomes said, his eyes boring into Peter even as he rubbed at his jaw. “No one will hear anything from me. But I’m going to need something else from you.”

“You have no right to ask that,” Loki started, and Tony watched in amazement as Peter shook his head imploringly and Loki actually _backed off._ Honestly, Tony was beginning to believe that _Peter_ was the magic one. 

“What is it?” Peter asked.

“Watch out for my daughter,” Toomes said. “She’s going to find out about everything now, I know that. She’s going to need help, and you… you’re a good kid, Parker.”

Tony couldn’t help the sharp jibe– “Even if he hangs out with aliens?”

Toomes ignored him, his eyes on Peter. But Peter’s expression had already hardened.

“Loki’s right, you have no right asking me that,” Peter snapped. “Liz is my friend, no matter who you are, no matter what you think I owe you. I owe you nothing.  _Fuck_ you.”

 _Language_ , Tony thought proudly.

After Peter's delightful shut down of the Vulture's sense of entitlement, Tony had grudgingly called the authorities to alert them of the situation (leaving out everything about Peter, of course), and Loki had finally transported the kid back home with minimal complaints.

While they waited for the FBI to show up, Loki had stepped back over to Toomes, who had been restrained by cuffs supplied from Tony’s suit.

“Peter is trusting,” Loki said simply. “I am _not_.”

Toomes hardly had time to flinch before Loki was bringing down his hands, engulfing the prisoner in a glow of green. But the spell was not a lethal one, and when the power at Loki’s fingertips dimmed, Toomes was left confused, but unharmed.

“If you try to mention Peter to anyone else,” Loki explained pleasantly, “If you so much as try to say his name, the words will feel like spurs as they twist in your throat. If you try to talk of Spider-Man, your tongue will freeze into ice and shatter should you attempt a second time. Try to write of him, and your hands will wither and rot. Try to communicate the truth of his identity any capacity…” Loki leaned in, his voice as dangerously charming as broken shards of glass glittering in the sunlight. “A fire will light in your belly and work its way up to your mouth, burning everything in its path to ash and leaving nothing for the words to form upon.”

Toomes shuddered, and Loki smiled gleefully.

“Do you understand me?” he asked, and Toomes, paler even than Peter had been, jerked his head once in a nod.

—•—

Later that night, when Tony asked, Loki smirked dangerously.

“Of _course_ the spell merely prevents him from communicating Peter’s identity by limiting his words and actions. But how long, do you think, will it be until he tests it?”

“After the stunt you just pulled?” Tony laughed, a shudder running through his body that was certainly not evoked by feelings of _fear_. Liesmith, indeed. “I’m thinking that Peter’s identity will be safe for a while.”


	5. Fifth Minute to Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“That child must be protected,” Loki said resolutely._
> 
> _“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “Just... whatever the hell you do, don’t tell him that.”_

The campaign had been raging for longer than it should have, yet not as long as it might have done. It was a mess of strategy and callous bloodshed, a battle fought with vicious intellect hidden behind gentlemanly smiles. Tony had carved up the enemy with ruthless efficiency, giving no mercy and leaving not a single opening for retaliation. He was winning, and there would be no coming back from this for his adversary. It was beyond a slaughter, it was a _massacre_ , and Tony only needed a few more moments before he could end it, once and for all.

Tony held in a smirk as he saw that his opponent had left him an opening.

“Check,” Tony said, taking Loki’s queen in one fluid motion with his bishop. “You’re distracted today.”

“No,” said Loki. He picked up his only knight, placed it gently on the board in the square diagonal to where Tony’s bishop had been a half second before and said– “That is mate.”

“What?” Tony exclaimed, glaring at the board with personal insult. “No way, I’ve been winning this whole time. How did you—“

“I have centuries of experience considering military strategy. This is far easier,” Loki said, shrugging smugly.

“Whatever,” Tony said, huffing with defeat. “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something wrong.”

Loki shook his head again, and with one wave of his hand the chessboard resting between them on the heavy metal bench was set back up again perfectly. His poker face was truly one of the best Tony had ever seen, but there was a familiar pinch to the corner of his eyes that gave him away– a tell that only ever meant one thing.

“It’s Thor, isn’t it?” Tony deduced, and Loki sighed, not bothering to deny it again.

“It is worrying,” Loki admitted. “He should not have been gone this long.”

“I’m sure he’s just out partying with some space elves,” Tony said. “You know Thor.”

“I do,” Loki sighed. “And he has been known to get side-tracked. But he knows that we are responsible for the stolen apple, and he should have come straight back either to warn us that we need to hide, or to tell us that we are in the clear. That he has done neither is certainly cause for concern.”

“Maybe he’s busy convincing Odin to give you some slack?” Tony asked.

“No,” said Loki. “If Odin knew that it is I behind the theft, we would already have been summoned to Asgard.”

“And by summoned, you mean forced,” Tony noted. “Great.”

“Thor wouldn’t leave us hanging, not when he knows what is at stake.” Loki’s frown deepened as he glared down at the chessboard, his hands tightening into fists. Tony shifted, intending to move around the bench to give Loki a hug or something, but someone else got there first.

Dummy whirred sadly and he pushed Loki’s hands away so that he could lay his claw in Loki’s lap, taking up his favourite spot. Loki laughed and gave in, patting Dummy gently. Tony rolled his eyes. Honestly, Dummy was such an attention whore. He couldn’t even _feel_ the pats, he had no tactile sensors, he just liked it because it made him feel appreciated and it meant that he was getting out of doing work. But it also meant that Loki was smiling again, so.

That still didn’t stop Tony from trying to shove Dummy away so that he could take his place. Loki’s eyes were bright as Dummy tried to press in closer, and Tony pouted at them both.

“Don’t give me that,” Tony said, waving at the near purring bot dismissively. “Go on, shift.”

When Dummy tried to move away with a sad droop his claw caught on the edge of the chessboard, upending it and sending the pieces flying. They clattered across the floor and spread right to all corners of the workshop. 

“You did that on purpose,” Tony accused, and Dummy twisted his claw innocently.

Loki laughed again and grasped Tony’s wrist, using his grip to pull himself up and Tony close all at the same time. He didn’t fight it, and leaned happily into Loki’s hold, relishing the feeling of those arms around his waist as he looked up into Loki’s bright green eyes. Tony couldn’t say which of them leaned in first, only that a moment later he could feel Loki’s soft smile pressed against his lips.

JARVIS gave them a quiet warning that the elevator was heading down to the shop, but Tony didn’t quite want the moment to end. He pressed in closer and nuzzled into Loki’s shoulder, eliciting a chuckle.

They were still entwined when the workshop door opened, still pressed against each other with soft smiles gracing their faces.

“Hi guys.”

“Hey, Peter,” said Tony, turning his head just slightly.

Loki pressed a final kiss to Tony’s hair before pulling himself away. “I’ll see you later, then,” he said.

“Actually,” Peter interjected. “Mr Loki, if you don’t mind, could I maybe… talk to you?”

Loki blinked in surprise, but nodded and followed Peter back out of the workshop, leaving Tony to try and coerce Dummy into picking the chess pieces up off the floor. Yes, it would have been faster if he had done it himself, but it was the principle of the thing. Dummy needed to learn the consequences that came from being a little shit.

By the time Peter returned half the pieces were back on the board courtesy of Butterfingers, who Dummy had guilted into helping, and the other half were being shoved down the neck of the Mark XLVI. Dummy announced his excitement by flinging the three pawns in his grasp across the room and zooming over to Peter, almost taking Butterfingers out along the way and tipping the board over _again._ Butterfingers’ claw drooped in disappointment before he slowly bent to pick the board up once more.

“Good boy,” Tony said, giving Butterfingers a little pat. Then he turned to where Dummy was poking at Peter, the kid giggling and stroking his claw and just generally making it seem like what Dummy was doing was an acceptable way to act. “Hey, Dummy,” Tony said. “Stop that, you have a job to do.”

A snicker caught Tony’s attention, and he turned to see Loki leaning against the door.

“Hey, good, you’re back,” said Tony. “Tell your child that he needs to stop defacing my suits and put these things back where they belong.”

“I think you’ll find that the bots take after their creator,” Loki replied, pushing away from the door and moving toward Tony, trailing his fingers along Dummy as he passed and eliciting a happy beep.

“He’s _your_ child when he’s being an asshole,” Tony corrected, but he smiled when Loki wrapped an arm around his waist nonetheless.

“Dude,” said Peter, glancing between them with wide eyes before looking down to Dummy. “It’s ok, if they don’t want you I’ll adopt you. You can help me with my homework.”

“You hear that?” Tony asked the bot. “Peter’s going to take you to his high school. That’s got to be _worse_ than community college.”

Dummy’s claw snapped up worriedly.

“I wouldn’t take him to _school_ ,” Peter denied. “He could come and live with me and Aunt May—“

“Do you really want to leave this place, Dummy?” Loki asked. “And leave your brothers behind?”

Dummy’s claw lowered again, and Tony watched in amazement as he moved to the Mark XLVI. JARVIS opened up the suit and Dummy began to collect the pawns and rooks from inside, bringing them to Butterfingers to be placed on the board.

“Definitely your child,” Tony muttered, shaking his head in disbelief even as he leaned into Loki’s chest.

Loki smiled. “They know you’re a pushover, really,” he said. “You never follow through on your threats.”

It was when Peter began giggling that Tony decided they needed a change of subject.

“Right,” said Tony, pulling away from Loki and heading to a workbench. “Now that’s sorted out– Peter, I need to see your suit. I need to fix it.”

“It doesn’t need fixing,” Peter said warily, his giggles immediately dissipating. “It’s fine.”

“He wants to put the tracking device back in,” Loki said, giving the game away. Tony shot him a glare, but only received a grin in response.

“What?” Peter asked. “Mr Stark, come on. I know I get into a lot of trouble but that’s still creepy—”

“It’s a safety measure,” Tony insisted. “What if you get kidnapped again?”

“I wasn’t wearing my suit when I got kidnapped last time,” Peter said. Then he frowned. “And that is _not_ an invitation to put a tracker somewhere else—“

“Tell you what,” said Tony. “You let me put a tracker in your suit and I promise not to look at it, _ever_. It’ll be accessible only to JARVIS, and he won’t tell me where you are unless its an emergency.”

Peter narrowed his eyes. “What constitutes an ‘emergency’, exactly?” he asked.

“Life threatening scenarios, kidnapping, and homework evasion?” Tony suggested brightly.

“Yeah right,” Peter snorted. “I’ll let you have the first two, and only if you throw in an Avengers poster signed by the _whole_ team for me to give to Ned for his birthday.”

“I’ll get you the poster, and you have to add ‘hasn’t contacted me in three days’ to the list of emergencies.”

“Only if I haven’t given you a reason beforehand,” Peter bargained.

Tony agreed easily.

When Peter glanced to Loki, the god nodded ever so slightly.

“All right,” Peter said, turning back to Tony and holding out a hand. “Deal.”

Peter stayed long enough to watch over Tony’s shoulder as he reintegrated the new tracker into the suit, though what he thought he was going to be able to stop from happening if Tony went back on the deal, Tony didn’t know. But Peter appeared to be satisfied, and Tony thought that maybe they’d be able to get rid of him after that, except that he seemed adamant that he wanted to challenge Dummy to a game of chess.

They chased Peter out of the workshop with the bot’s help in the end, having somehow convinced Dummy that he really was going to end up kidnapped if Peter stayed much longer. Dummy made use of his favourite fire extinguisher and the chess pieces were scattered all over the floor once again in the scuffle, but they were picked up quick smart with just one of Loki’s raised eyebrows shot in the bot's direction. It had to be magic. It had to be.

“Finally,” Tony said with a grin when they were left alone again, stepping back into Loki’s welcoming arms. “It’s hard work, being so popular.”

Loki hummed in agreement, relaxing against Tony. It was nice.

“What did Peter want to talk to you about, anyway?” asked Tony.

“He wanted to ask me for advice,” Loki frowned. “On his secret identity. He said that he thought you would give him a biased opinion, but– why would he come to me?”

“Don’t look so stunned,” Tony said, nudging Loki’s shoulder playfully. “What did you say?”

“I told him that if he thought his reasons to keep it a secret outweighed the benefits and averted the dangers of telling people, then he should follow his own judgement.”

“Well, sounds like you did a good job.”

“I’ve never…” Loki shook his head. “He was afraid of me only weeks ago. How is he able to forgive so quickly?”

"I guess Peter's just something special," Tony said with a shrug.

“That child must be protected,” Loki said resolutely.

“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “Just... whatever the hell you do, don’t tell him that.”

—•—

An hour or so later and Tony was working on the new newest StarkPad design with happy smile on his face, his eyes darting up every now and then to where Loki was fiddling with a cauldron over an open flame on his side of the workshop. He always enjoyed these quiet moments of working together, able to just spend time in Loki's presence in a way that he just couldn't with anyone else. Usually, around other people, Tony felt the need to fill the silence with prattling conversation but with Loki there was no need. They could share the space and simply enjoy the silent company, and it was just... comfortable. Quiet. Perfect. 

Well, it _was_ , until—

“Sir,” JARVIS interrupted. “You have a call from Mr Parker.”

“Already?” Tony asked in disbelief. “He only just left.”

“Just put him through, JARVIS,” Loki said, not even looking up from his cauldron.

True to form, as soon as the call connected, Tony began to babble.

“Peter, don’t tell me the suit’s broken already,” he said. “I sorted that for you all of five minutes ago, honestly, you give someone some tech and they never treat it with the tender love and care that it—“

“Mr Stark?” Peter cut in, his voice small and scared and Tony shut up _immediately_. “I need you to come to my apartment.”

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked, already looking over to Loki. He needed no alerting though, as he was already on his way across the workshop, a frown creasing his brow.

“It’s not, it’s nothing big,” Peter said, “but, I um, I need your help.“

Tony was about to voice a question but was halted by the sound of someone screeching in the background of the call. 

“ _Peter Parker, I am not done with you!”_

“Was that _May_?” Tony asked incredulously. “Peter, what’s going on?”

“She found out that I’m Spider-Man,” Peter said all in a rush, as if he were spewing the words out as fast as possible. “Mr Stark, please.”

“She—“ Tony cut himself short, shaking his head. “All right, kid, hold her off until I can get there. Give me ten minutes.”

“One,” Loki corrected.

JARVIS disconnected the call, and Tony turned to his Trickster.

“You coming?”

“I don’t believe that would be wise,” Loki replied. “She’s upset about Peter being Spider-Man, and I don’t think that having me there will help.”

“It might be a good distraction,” Tony tried.

“One thing at a time,” Loki suggested, though there was an amused glint in his eyes again that had Tony rolling his own.

“You just don’t want to deal with the drama,” Tony muttered.

“On the contrary,” Loki said. “I adore the drama. JARVIS is going to record it all for me. I just don’t want to deal with the fallout.”

Before Tony had the chance to reply, Loki reached out and brushed his hand across Tony’s cheek. Then Tony blinked, and he was standing in the middle of the Parkers' living room.

May, to her credit, took having a billionaire inventor appear out of thin air in the middle of her living room with hardly a flinch. 

“Tony Stark!” she screeched, her voice reaching decibels that pierced Tony’s eardrums. “What have you _done!”_

Tony took a moment to get his bearings. May was in his face, fists clenched and eyes blazing, leaning forward on her toes like she was ready to take off. Peter was hunched over on the edge of the couch, holding his phone like a lifeline, his own expression petrified. He was wearing the Spider-Man suit sans mask, and it didn’t take a genius to work out how May had discovered Peter’s secret. He must have been excited to try it, to make sure that Tony hadn’t removed his access to Karen, perhaps, and in his haste had forgotten to check whether May was home.

“I've protected your nephew,” Tony said almost offhandedly, before turning back to May and saying more firmly– “Yes. That’s exactly what I’ve done.”

“Protected?” May’s eyes narrowed, and Tony actually took a short step back. “You knew he was out there, you knew my Peter was risking his life, and you didn’t do anything to stop him!”

“Do you honestly think I could have?” Tony asked, spreading his hands. “You know Peter better than anyone, do you honestly think—“

“Clearly, I don’t,” May snapped. “How can I know him, my own nephew, when he’s been out there, running around criminals, and I didn’t even notice? How can you say that?”

Peter flinched, his eyes beginning to water. “May…” he started, but she turned to him next.

“Peter, I knew you were leaving the house at night,” she said, her anger breaking her voice. “I knew you were missing school, leaving detention. I tried to talk to you and all you’d say was that you were _fine_. I thought it was something horrible, maybe drugs, maybe something worse. I’ve phoned parenting helplines, I’ve talked to the school, I tried talking to you, but you just… you didn’t meet me half way, Peter! I’ve been trying, I really have!”

“Hey,” said Tony, stepping between them. “Don’t you dare pin this all on Peter. He’s been helping people, he’s been doing his best to make the world a better place. And yeah, he didn’t tell you, but he hasn’t just been doing it alone. There’s a whole team of heroes now who want to help him, and that’s worth more than you’re giving it credit for.”

“You have been enabling him!” May broke in. “How could you? He’s just a kid, and you’re going to get him killed!”

“Okay, yes,” Tony finally snapped. “I’m enabling him. Is that what you want me to say?”

May looked taken aback by Tony’s sudden agreement, but Tony didn’t give her the chance to answer.

“I’ve been enabling his habit of running around in a suit and fighting bad guys,” Tony confessed again. “I’ve given him advice, and therefore actively _encouraged_ him to help clean up the streets in a way that is more efficient and less dangerous for everyone. I have built and gifted him a rather expensive suit specifically designed to keep him safe, which _yes_ , makes it easier for him to be a superhero and go out there and save lives. _Including_ , occasionally, both mine and his own. I have put him in contact with the Avengers which is probably the _worst_ crime, since he now has a whole network of people supporting his desire to knock down bad guys, and equally supporting  _him_ , giving just as much advice and recommendations as I. So, yes, May, I _am_ enabling him, because I know that if I don’t, he’s going to be in a hell of a lot more danger. When I learned about him, I knew I was in a position to help, in a spot where _I_ could make a difference for _him_ , where I could help to keep him safe. Because Peter deserves to be supported, and he deserves better than what this world has given him so far.”

There was a heavy pause.

“That’s the most truthful thing you’ve said so far,” May eventually replied. “He _does_ deserve better. He deserves better than all of us.”

“Yes,” Tony agreed. “I’m just doing the same as you, May. I’m _trying_ , I’m doing my best. We just have different methods of going about it.”

May sighed, her body relaxing, the fight almost melting out of her. “Okay,” she said. “But you aren’t his parent. You can’t do this, not when I say no.”

“Maybe,” Tony said, giving her a small smile. “But I’m going to try anyway.”

She didn’t look happy with his answer, and May turned to Peter, then, her expression sorrowful.

“You’re not going to stop, are you?” she asked, and Peter shook his head.

“No,” said Peter, his eyes wide and wet but his words unshakable. “I’m not.”

“Okay then,” said May, swallowing hard and turning back to Tony. “Then you need to promise me something. You need to swear to me that you are going to _keep_ helping him, that you will make sure he is the most protected that he can be. That you will _never_ leave him high and dry, that he is going to have the support of the Avengers and that he will never, ever find himself alone when he needs it most.”

“ _May_ ,” Peter complained but she continued to speak over him.

“No matter how he sees himself, Peter is still just a teenager, and he needs the support.”

“I don’t think Peter could be described as ‘just’ anything,” Tony said.

“Tony Stark,” May said firmly, her gaze hard and uncompromising. “Promise me.”

“May, trust me,” said Tony, meeting her eyes. “It would be my pleasure. But there's one thing that I need you to do for me. No, for Peter."

"And what's that?" May asked.

"I just want you to ask Peter  _why_ he's doing what he is," Tony said, glancing to where the kid was still twisting his phone nervously in his hands. "You might be surprised by what he tells you."

"You know what?" said May, her own gaze turned in the same direction. "Somehow, I don't think that I will be."

—•—

Tony’s conversation with May rang through his mind for several days, the thought refusing to leave him alone.

Peter’s identity was out, now, at least to those who mattered. The Avengers all knew Peter’s name and face at May’s own insistence ( _‘How can they look after you if they don’t know who you are?’_ ) and Peter seemed all the better for it, finally having people who he could talk to and who properly understood what he was going through. Steve had talked to the Accords Council, half sweet-talking and half strong-arming them into allowing Spider-Man’s identity to remain within the team on the condition that he be held under the same accountability as the rest and without the (admittedly small) benefits.

But Tony felt like he could be doing more. Peter deserved more recognition than he got from the YouTubers and the disgusting _Daily Bugle_. Tony looked at that sweet, earnest kid who swung about saving lives and expected no thanks, and he suddenly knew exactly what he needed to do.

It took an immediately unanimous vote with the team, a long conversation with May, and quick chat with Pepper before everything was sorted, but it was only a few days after that Happy was leading Peter through a back entrance and into one of the larger conference rooms in Avengers' Tower. Tony was waiting with Loki and the other original members of the Avengers (sans Thor, who was still conspicuously absent) in the hallway outside the room, standing next to a large metal case embossed with the Avengers’ insignia. 

“Um, hey,” said Peter as he approached them, leaving Happy to wait down the hall, ensuring that no uninvited and therefore petulant journalists attempted to get through to join the party.

“Mr Parker,” said Steve, stepping forward first and offering his hand for Peter to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in happier circumstances.”

Peter looked like he was about to have an aneurysm, but he shook Cap’s hand and managed to get a reign on his overtly panicking fanboy persona in a manner that had Loki watching on with pride.

“Definitely,” Peter said, his eyes glittering. “You know, I _do_ still think you’re pretty great, even though I’ve heard you talk about—“

“Okay,” said Steve, glaring when Natasha snorted. “Enough of that.”

Peter merely smiled.

“I still need to know what that’s about,” Tony muttered.

“You could probably find it on Google,” Peter said with a shrug. “It’s turned into a meme.”

“Oh, god,” groaned Steve, and Tony was momentarily distracted by the fact that Steve seemed to know what a meme was. Oh, how the world had changed.

With both Steve and Tony distracted, Clint took the reins.

“Spidey,” he said, spreading his arms dramatically. “We, the Avengers, have a proposition for you. We have seen you in action, we have been grateful for your help. We believe that your strange arachnid powers would be of great amusement in the battlefield, and to be honest watching you cover bad guys with white goo that spurts out of your wrists has been one of the highlights of the past few—“

“Peter,” said Tony, cutting in and shoving Clint out of the way. “We’d like you to join the Avengers.”

Peter’s eyes went wide, and his jaw fell open. He glanced around the hall, probably checking for evidence that he was being punked.

So, of course, Tony just kept talking. “There’re about fifty reporters through that door,” he told Peter, “real ones, not bloggers or YouTubers. And they’re waiting for us to head in there and introduce the newest member of the Avengers.”

“The newest member?” Peter asked with a squeak.

“Yeah,” said Tony. “Spider-Man, of course.”

“I don’t have my suit,” Peter said distractedly, and Tony grinned.

“Well then, why don’t you try this on for size? JARVIS, open her up.”

At the prompt, the case before them opened with a dramatic whirr. Inside was a masterpiece, if Tony could say so himself, a shining expanse of red and black metal accented with gold. It was far sleeker than any Iron Man suit and yet just as durable, with added safety features (including not one but _two_ parachutes), Peter’s own web formula, an already uploaded Karen, and an updated neural interface to make the use of it a hell of a lot easier. Peter would have to be an idiot to turn it down.

“I am so honoured, you guys,” Peter said, turning to face the group, and Tony almost sighed because _of course_.

Clint’s face fell. “I’m sensing a _but_ , here,” he said.

Peter averted his eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want to be an Avenger, but I think… I think I can do more on the ground. I don’t want to be in the spotlight, dealing with the big threats, when there are little threats that mean just as much to the people who are put in danger. I know you think I deserve it because I helped with Toomes but the thing is, you wouldn’t have even known about Toomes if it weren't for me. He would have slipped under your radar, and that’s not fair for all the people that he hurt. They need someone, and I think that person could be me.”

“So you’re saying no?” Clint asked, exchanging a disappointed glance with Bruce. “You don’t want to join us?”

“No, that’s not what he’s saying,” Tony cut in. “You just want to look out for the little guy, huh kid?”

“Yeah,” said Peter, nodding along. “Because they need just as much help when it’s just them in danger as they do when it’s a whole city. And I can do that.”

Tony smiled proudly, warmth blooming in his chest. He had been right, before, when he had compared Peter to Steve. Because Steve was full of this idealism, but the mantle of Captain America had placed the burden of the world on his shoulders. Sometimes when you looked at the bigger picture you missed the details you could have seen by standing up close and focusing on just a small part. Peter would be an asset in times of strife, Tony knew, but if he focused on the same as the Avengers then a whole lot of people in Queens who looked up to the skies in hopes of spotting Spider-Man would pay the price. Peter was turning down the suit and the official position on the team, but he was just as much a hero as any of them. More, probably.

“Good choice, kid,” Tony said, patting him lightly on the shoulder. “But this doesn’t let you off on any of our deals. I’m still going to fit you out and you still need to give me updates.”

Peter let out a pleasantly surprised laugh, his eyes bright. “Yeah, sure, Mr Stark,” he said. “I think I can manage that.”

Tony felt a shift beside him and glanced up to see that Loki had moved to stand by his side. He was also smiling, and he inclined his head to Peter.

“You’re wiser than your mentor,” he said, and Tony rolled his eyes even as Peter grinned.

“This was a test, right?” Peter asked, and Tony was glad that Peter’s eyes were on him when Clint made a strange choking noise. “There isn’t really anyone back there, is there?”

“Well,” Tony started. He was about to lie, about to say that yes, it was, the kid had passed, well done Peter, congrats you have a conscience. But then—

“Tony!” Pepper said, stepping out of the door Tony had indicated earlier, the clear sounds of a press conference escaping in the moments before Pepper snapped it shut again. “They’re all waiting, is the kid ready?”

Peter’s eyes went wide. “Oh god,” he muttered. “This wasn’t a test.”

“If it were, you would have passed,” Steve assured him.

Pepper looked to Tony, a brow raised in question.

“Uh, yeah, Pep, it’s not happening,” Tony told her.

“What?!” Pepper exclaimed.

Loki was giggling. “I told you this would end badly,” he said.

“And this is so not what you meant,” Tony replied.

“Tony, so help me god, I am not going to cancel this press conference!” Pepper hissed. “Do you realise how many people are in there? How badly this will reflect on us?”

“Well, you’d better come up with something else to announce then, because I’m not forcing Peter into this if he doesn’t want it,” Tony snapped.

“Oh, don’t you dare lay this on me, Tony,” Pepper said.

“Mr Stark,” Peter cut in. “If you want I can—“

“No, Peter,” said Steve. “You do not have to join the Avengers if you don’t want to. That’s perfectly fine, and we’re not going to make you.”

“Of course we aren’t,” Tony said, and Pepper nodded.

“Of course not,” she agreed. “But I need _something_ here.” She turned to Loki slyly. “I don’t suppose you’re planning to propose any time soon?”

“What?” Tony yelped, “Pepper, stop it!”

Loki started laughing, and Tony poked him in the side.

“You too, this isn’t funny!” Tony whined, which of course only served to make Loki laugh harder.

“Yeah,” said Clint with a grin. “It kinda is.”

“Well, does anyone have any other ideas?” Pepper asked, glancing around the group. “Nothing?”

All of them looked down at their feet, all either unable to think of anything big enough or, more likely, unwilling to share. Even Loki lowered his gaze under Pepper’s withering glare.

“Five Avengers and not a single one of you has a suggestion?” Pepper asked, her hands on her hips.

“Press conferences aren’t really my strong point,” Clint muttered.

“Wait a sec,” said Peter, catching Tony’s gaze, his eyes dancing with a spark that was scarily similar to one Tony was used to seeing on a certain god of mischief. “You do mean _six_ Avengers, right Miss Potts?”

“No,” said Pepper, frowning. “Thor isn’t here– unless you’re counting yourself, Mr Parker, but you just said—”

“He’s not counting himself,” Tony cut in.

Pepper’s frown deepened. “Then there are only five Avengers here,” she said slowly.

“Um, no,” said Bruce, catching on. “I count six.”

“Definitely six,” said Steve, nodding firmly.

When Pepper glanced around them, slightly confused, Peter grinned and pointed to Loki.

“Really?” she asked, raising a brow.

“No,” Loki said immediately. “I’m no hero.”

“So you didn’t help us with Maximoff in Vienna?” Steve said, his eyes wide. “I must have remembered that wrong.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Loki started.

“And you never helped Tony diffuse that bomb Doom put in the UN,” Bruce added.

“That wasn’t being a hero, that was just keeping this idiot alive,” Loki snapped. “It’s a full time job, as you know, since you put me on your—“

“I guess he never saved my life,” Peter said dramatically, not going to be left out of the fun. “I’m dead you guys, Loki left me to die. Twice.”

“No, of course, you’re all right. Loki never helped us,” Natasha finished. “There’s no way he’s an Avenger.”

“I _am_ an Avenger,” Loki insisted, sounding miffed. “I’m on the payroll!”

“For the last time, we don’t _have_ a payroll,” Clint said. “And ice-cream doesn’t count, no matter what Stark says.”

Tony couldn’t help it. He tried, he really, really did, but the giggle just burst free.

“What?” Loki snapped, rounding on him next.

Tony wanted to respond, but the effort of containing the full blown laughter had him gasping and squeaking like a dying seal, and there was no way he was going to be able to form a coherent sentence.

“I believe Tony is just shocked that you admitted to being part of the team,” Bruce replied for him, and Tony nodded and pointed to make his agreement obvious.

“I did not,” Loki said immediately.

“Uh, yeah,” said Peter, looking between Loki and Tony with unconcealed amusement. “You kinda did.”

“Well,” Tony giggled, wiping at his eyes as he turned to face Pepper. “Guess we don’t have to cancel the press conference after all.”

Pepper sighed, and rolled her eyes.

“Come on then, you lot,” she said, doing a remarkable impression of an elementary school teacher leading a field trip as she ushered them all into a line before the door. “We have a new Avenger to announce.”

“I never agreed to this,” Loki complained even as he fell into line between Tony and Clint. “Not ever. I’m _not_ a hero!”

“But you _are_ an Avenger,” Tony insisted, turning to press a kiss to the corner of Loki’s lips so swiftly that Pepper didn’t even seem to notice, but it was enough that Loki sighed in acceptance, the fight going out of him.

“Don’t worry, Mr Loki,” said Peter from his position by the wall, his smile bright and earnest. “I think you’re going to do just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to everyone who has read and kudosed and commented, you keep me going! Keep an eye out for the next part of this series which will go through Infinity War (and I mean, I've already written Thanos' death scene guys, I am having way too much fun with this.)


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